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THE 



ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR: 



FESTIVALS AND HOLY SEASONS 



By Key. B. G. BAYERLE, 

BXCTOK or PBMPLEFORT, NBAB COLOOME, QEBUANT. 

APPROVED BY 



THE MOST REV. 



PRINCE-ARCHBISHOP 



OF VIENNA. 



THE MOST KEY. 



PRINCE-BISHOP 



OF BRESLAU, 




HIS BHIMBNCB 



JOHN VON GEISSEL, 



CARDINAL- ARC HBISHOP 



COLOGNE. 



(For approbation of American Archbishops and Bishops see next page.) 



TO THE ABOVE WORK ARE ADDED 

THE LEGENDS, OR THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS, 

By Rev. Dr, ALBA-IS- STOLZ. 

A HOUSEHOLD WORK FOR INSTRUCTION AND DEVOTION. 

THANSLATEO FROM THB GERMAN BY 

Rev. THEODORE NOETHE^^, 

PASTOR or " HOLY CB0S8," ALBANY, N. T. 



<v,^ 



i=>^^r\T I, 



S. ZICKEL, PUBLISHER, 113 RIVINGTON STREET. 

1864. 



An Illustrated Title-page, together with an Index, will be furnished at the close of each part. 



^J7 



JUc l^'/^^ 









Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the. year 1864, by 

S. ZICKEL, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the U. S., for the Southern District of New York. 



HxNBT Beyer, Ekctrotyper, 
538 Broadway, N. Y# 



PREFACE 



r»iAaT aHT 



Among Pagans, chronology had a deeper meaning than the mere counting of 
days, weeks, months and years. All important events of the past were con- 
nected by it, remarkable occurrences in the history of nations or of families 
were solemnly celebrated on their anniversaries, to perpetuate the memory of 
them. If this custom existed even among Pagans, why should Christians neg- 
lect it ? The history of Christianity, as God's Kingdom upon earth restored to 
mankind by the Son of God, reveals to us in a more remarkable manner the 
wonderful deeds of an Almighty, All-wise, and All-benevolent Providence, than 
does the history of all the nations upon earth ; it is, indeed, nothing but a great, 
uninterrupted series of extraordinary dispensations from the hands of God for 
the salvation of mankind. How could the Catholic, then, allow the many beau- 
tiful and significant Festivals and holy seasons, called the Ecclesiastical Year, 
to pass by, without exciting and reviving his religious feelings ? The Festivals 
alone, however, do not produce such effects ; each day does it ; for on each day 
does the church place before us the life of some glorious Saint — as an example 
and guide. We will, therefore, present a work to the public, which combines in 
itself every quality to incite and strengthen true religious sentiment. That 
this work may correspond with its object, the translator has used as a basis the 
^'Ecclesiastical Year," of Rev. B. G. Bayerle, for the instruction on Sundays 
and Festivals during the ecclesiastical year, whilst the Legends of Alban Stolz 
furnish us with the lives of the Saints. Both authors are known as ornaments 



PREFACE. 



to Catholic literature. We sele/jted the Legends of A. Stolz, because they treat 
not only on the lives of the Saints, but point out to us whatever corresponds 
with the object of the meditations, which are the practical applications we can 
make after reading the Legends. Dr. Stolz presents, the Saint to the reader in 
such a manner, that he serves him as a model and an example through life. 

That this work may assist in extending the Holy. Catholic Church, and 
thereby giving greater Honor and Glory to God, is the sincere wish of 

THE TRANSLATOR 
Albany, N. Y., Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. 



IITRODUCTIOK 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR AND ITS DIVISION. 

JLhe Ecclesiastical Year is the compendium of all the feasts and holy seasons, 
instituted by the Holy Catholic Church, to remind us of the great mysteries of 
divine love, of the manifold and important events in the history of our Redemp- 
tion, and of the lives and virtues of her glorious martyrs, inviting us to celebrate 
their feasts in a becoming manner. 

Whatever Almighty God has done for the salvation of man from the begin- 
ning of the world through all times, is presented to us during the Ecclesiastical 
Year in its principal events, so that every year, we live over again these events, 
contemplating them with the eyes of our spirit, and thereby exciting, reviving 
and strengthening our faith, hope and love for God, our Creator, Redeemer and 
Sanctifier. 

Now, as each event, occurring in the lapse of time through God's grace, is 
intimately connected with one another, and in this connection forms the history 
of the divine Kingdom upon earth, whose centre is Jesus Christ, the Redeemer 
of the world and the Restorer of the divine inheritance, lost by sin ; — in the 
same manner each festival and holy season, referring to the history of the King- 
dom of God, is intimately connected with each other, and forms, as it were, a 
great cyclus, passing in uninterrupted succession through the Ecclesiastical Year, 
the centre of which is again Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world. In the 
Gospel He Himself calls the work of Redemption and Restoration of the divine 
Kingdom, announced and represented in the old, but perfected by Him in the 
new law. The Year of Grace, of which the Jubilee of the old law was the type. 
For, as in the Jewish Jubilee, all debts were remitted to the debtors, the pater- 
nal inheritance restored to those, that had mortgaged or otherwise lost it, and 
all freed that were in slavery; — so in the same manner in the Year of Grace, 



INTRODUCTION. 



sin and its punishment should be forgiven to man ; the lost inheritance of heaven 
should be restored again to them, and freedom from the servitude of hell be their 
portion. (Lev. 25 : 10 ; Luke 4 : 18, 19.) How beautiful, therefore, and full 
of meaning, is the connection of the sanctified year of the Church Tvith that 
of the Lord, in -which all events are again commemorated and recalled to the 
minds of those, who are redeemed by Christ. 

Among the many important events in the history of the divine Kingdom, 
some are of special interest, excelling others ; events of less interest, however, 
either preceding or following them, are connected with them. 

The three principal Feasts of the ecclesiastical year correspond very natur- 
ally with the three prominent events of the Jubilee, or the year of Grace. Thus 
the Feasts of the Ecclesiastical Year are divided into three parts, each connected 
with one of the three Feasts, receiving its name therefrom. In such manner 
the principal Festivals have a time of preparation and of after-celebration. 
Before the Feast', the faithful are told to prepare themselves in a becoming man- 
ner for the celebration of the Feast itself^ and <:{/yerit, they continue to meditate 
upon the mysteries presented to their minds on the Festival itself, reaping salu- 
tary fruits therefrom for religion and morality. 

The three principal parts of the Ecclesiastical Year are : — 

1. Christmas^ reminding us of the beginning of our Redemption through the 
Incarnation and Birth of the Son of God. During this holy season the history of 
the early life of Christ is placed before us. The preparation for this holy season 
is Advent, reminding us of the old law, and of the preparations made during 
that time by our heavenly Father for the birth of his only-begotten Son, and 
exhorting us, to prepare ourselves in a worthy manner for Christmas. 

This holy season ends with the 6th Sunday after Epiphany. The first part 
of the Ecclesiastical Year, therefore, reminds us of the infinite love of God, the 
Father J who, in his unbounded mercy, decreed the Redemption of mankind, pre- 
paring them in manifold ways for the Advent of Christ, whom He finally sent. 

2. Easter, reminding us of the fulfilment of our Redemption through the 
Son of God, who, by His death on the cross, consummated the atoning sacrifice 
for the sins of the whole world, but who, by His Resurrection, perfected the 
work of Redemption. During this holy season, therefore, is presented to us 
the history of the last days of Our Saviour on earth. The preparation for Easter 
is Lent, at which time we are to meditate upon the sufierings and death of the 
Son of Godj and prepare ourselves in a becoming manner for the Feast of His 
Resurrection ; this holy season ends on the Vigil of Pentecost. 

In this second part of the ecclesiastical year is revealed to us the infinite 
love of God., the Son, who, in His own person, undertook and accomplished the 
■work of Redemption, decreed by His heavenly Father. 

3. Pentecost, reminding us of the application of the fruits of Redemption to 
man,. of the spreading of His divine kingdom on earth through the Holy Ghost, 



INTRODUCTION^. 



who, on that day, for the first time descended upon the apostles and disciples of 
our Lord, imparting to them, and through them to others, the fruit of Redemp- 
tion, viz.: sanctification. The, preparation for this holy season is Easter; it 
ends with the last Sunday after Pentecost. 

This third part of the Ecclesiastical Year reminds us, therefore, of the infinite 
love of God, the Holy Ghost, who imparted to man the fruits of Redemption, 
decreed by G^)d, the Father, and accomplished by God the Son, thereby making 
it His sanctifying agent upon earth. 

In connection with these three principal parts of the Ecclesiastical Year, we 
have one other, in which is presented to us, in living examples, the fruits of 
Redemption and Sanctification. This fourth part includes : 

4. The Feasts of the Saints,— that is, of those glorious servants of God, who 
in their lives faithfully made use of the means of salvation left by our Saviour, 
thereby becoming partakers of the heavenly glory of Christ, of whose church 
they were living and effective members. 

The ecclesiastical year can again be divided in a different manner, by bring- 
ing before us the events of each day of the whole year, of which there are some 
of greater, some of lesser importance. The most important of these holy days are : 
1. Sioulai/, called, in the language of the Church, the day of the Lord. The 
usage of keeping holy one day in each week, sanctifying it with good works, 
especially remembering on that day our higher destiny, did not originate first 
with Christianity ; it is coeval with mankind, and introduced by the Creator 
Himself, immediately after having created the world. This is fully explained 
in Genesis 2 : 2, 3. "And on the seventh day God ended His work, which He 
had made ; and He rested on the seventh day from all this work", which He: 
had made ; and God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it." To understand; 
the meaning of these words^ and especially of the Sabbath, sanctified by the Cre- 
ator Himself, it must be remarked that by the word day in this and other places 
of the Bible where there is mention made of the creation, is not meant t$ie pe- 
riod of twenty-four hours, as we commonly express it, just as if God had[ created 
each part of the world in six consecutive days, each twenty-four hours long, and 
then rested on the seventh day from all His works for twenty-four hours, as, man. 
does at the present day. Such an opinion would be wrong for this reason aro^e, be-- 
cause before God, the Eternal, the Immutable, no change of timeexiMs; no/P^sty, 
no Future, but only a never-ending Present, according to St.- Augu&tiii ; whatever 
therefore, has been, is and shall be done, is at one and the same tiiDte before 
Him. The word day has rather a different meaning in the Hol;^: Scriptures ; it 
is often used to indicate a period of long duration ; the days o£'the eternal and 
infinite God are not like the days of mortal men. In thiss sense the Royal 
Prophet David says : "A thousand years in thy sight are m jesterday, which 
is past; and as a watch in the night." Psalm 89 : 4. In tb^- same manner St. 
Peter expresses himself, saying: "One day with the Lord is, a. thousand years, 



i 



INTRODUCTION. 



and a thousand years as one day." 2 Peter, 3 : 8. According to the Holy Scrip-: 
tures and the interpretations of some of the most learned Doctors of the Church 
of the early centuries, as Origenes, Athanasius and Augustin, by the six days 
of the creation are understood as many successive periods of an unknown, but 
certainly long duration, in which God made and placed in order the different 
classes of creation. Exactly in accordance with this interpretation of the six 
days of the creation is that of the seventh day, on which God ended his work, 
rested from it, and sanctified it ; by the Sabbath, or the Day of the Lord, there- 
fore, we do not understands day, twenty-four hours long, but a space of time corres- 
ponding with the former six periods, which commenced after the creation, and has 
not yet ceased, but still continues, and will continue, until it merges into the 
great eternal Sabbath or day of rest, which the Elect will enjoy in the kingdom 
of heaven, with their Creator after their work on earth is ended. 

After the example Almighty God had given to keep holy the Sabbath-day, 
it follows that the true servants of God, even in the earliest times, when the 
natural law existed, that is to say, from Adam to Moses, observed that day by 
resting from their labor, an(^ sanctifying it by good works. Afterwards, wheu 
God with his chosen people, the Israelites, in the time of Moses, ended the so- 
called old law, giving them for this end His commandments on Mount Sinai, 
prescribing certain rules, whereby they should worship Him in their different 
states of life; He gave them in the third commandment positive precepts how 
to keep holy the Sabbath-day, saying: "Remember that thou keep holy the 
Sabbath-day ; six days thou shalt labor, and shalt do all thy works. But on 
the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God ; thou shalt do no work on 
it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-serv- 
ant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger, that is within thy gates ; for in six days 
the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, 
and rested on the seventh day ; therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and 
sanctified it." (Exodus, 20: 8-11.) 

The same commandments God confirmed and explained more fully on differ- 
ent occasions. 

In accordance with this command of God, the Sabbath-day was strictly kept 
by the Jewish people, principally by abstaining from servile work (except in 
case of necessity), and by special religious ceremonies. Each desecration was 
looked upon as apostacy, and was punished with death like idolatry. The Sab- 
l)ath commenced on Friday evening at the setting of the sun, and lasted until 
ihe evening of the Sabbath itself, when the stars appeared in the firmament. 

vDur Saviour and His Apostles also kept holy the Sabbath as long as Judaism 
had not lost its significance ; and when we see, that the enemies of our Saviour, 
ihe Pharisees and Doctors of the law, often reproached Him for not sanctifying 
that day, it was only done because the Jews, at that time, observed the com- 
mandmeiits of God, especially the third, only according to letter, not caring for 



INTRODUCTION. 9 



its real meaning or true signification, -whilst our Lord, in the observance of the 
commandments, especially of the third, pointed to the spirit in accordance with 
the one great command of loving God and our neighbor, by His doctrine as 
well as by His example. 

At the expiration of the old law, and with the beginning and spreading of 
the Church of Christ, of which the old law tvas only a figure, a great change 
took place. The sanctification of one day in the week, decreed by Almighty 
God for all future times, had to be retained ; but instead of the last day of the 
week, the first was to be observed. This change was made already by the Apos- 
tles, according to the power they had received from our Saviour — to bind and 
to loose — that is, to give directions and regulations for the Faithful, and, if 
necessary, to change or abolish them. Important reasons, however, caused this 
change ; as the last day of the week was sanctified after the creation, in a higher 
degree, thej^r^^ day was kept holy after the Resurrection, since the most impor- 
tant events of history, the Resurrection of our Lord, the Descent of the Holy 
Ghost, and, according to the traditions of several Doctors of the Church, the 
Birth of Christ, His Circumcision and Baptism occurred on that day, which was 
called by the Faithful "the day of the Lord," and as such observed even in the 
time of the Apostles, before the Sabbath of the Jews was abolished, and the 
law, to sanctify the first day of the week, promulgated. This change was neces- 
sary, so that the Christians should outwardly be distinguished from the Jews ; 
and it was done by publicly sanctifying another day, instead of the Jewish Sab- 
bath. Many, however, that were converted from Judaism to Christianity ob- 
served still the old Sabbath — but this usage disappeared more and more, until 
it ceased entirely in the second and third centuries. The Fathers of the Church 
insisted upon this entire change. St. Ignatius, a disciple of SS. Peter, Paul and 
John, writes thus to the Christians of Magnesia: — "If you are Christians, ob- 
serve no more the Sabbath, but sanctify the day of the Lord ; for through Him 
and His death we received life." The day of the Lord in the earliest times of 
Christianity, was also called Sunday, a Pagan term, because the Pagans had 
dedicated Sunday to the God of the Sun, and hence the word Sunday. The 
Christians adopted this name, because they looked upon Christ as the Sun of 
Justice, according to St. Ambrose, saying : "The day of the Lord is venerable 
to us, and solemn, because our Saviour shone in the light of the Resurrection 
like the rising* sun, after ha^g destroyed the darkness of hell, therefore this 
day is called by the children of the world Sunday, because Christ, the rising sun 
of Justice, shines upon it." 

The Christian writers in the first century used the name Sunday instead of 
the day of the Lord, in order to be understood by the Pagans in their instruc- 
tions to them, and in their defence of the Christian doctrine ; for the word Sun- 
day is only used in their letters directed to the Pagans, whilst the Christians, in 
their sermons and writings amongst themselves, always called , it the day of the 



10 INTRODUCTION. 



Lord. Every Christian, if not detained by sickness or imprisonment, T^as 
obliged to attend divine service on Sunday ; to neglect it, was a grievous sin, 
often punislied with excommunication. According to the second commandment 
of God, this obligation still exists for all the Faithful to be present at the Holy 
Sacrifice of the Mass, Sermon "and Catechism. Sunday is kept hgly in the new, 
as it was in the old Law, by iabstaining from all servile labor, to which belong 
all professional employments of man, whatever his state of life. All public and 
state affairs are suspended on that day, domestic labor only is permitted, any 
accident or very urgent business are reasons, however, for exemption from this 
precept, according to the words of our Saviour, saying: "The Sabbath was 
made for man and not man -for the Sabbath." Mark, 2: 27. 

Worldly pleasures also were formerly forbidden on Sunday, the joy of the 
faithful on such a day should be spiritual; therefore, works of piety — -giving 
alms and visiting the sick-^were practiced on that day. 

After Sunday the most important days of the Ecclesiastical Year are : 

2. The Feasts^ days of joy in memory of some happy event. We find such 
days among the Pagans. God himself appointed them amongst the Jews, as 
the feasts of Easter,- Pentecost and the Tabernacle, and hence the Catholic 
Church has the right, according to the power given her by Christ, to institute 
Feasts^ and to oblige her children to keep them. By Feasts, therefore, we 
understand days, set apart by the Church, in honor of some important event in 
the history of Redemption, or in memory of some saintly person. 

The Feasts are therefore divided, according to their origin and meaning, into : 

a. Feasts of the liord, in commemoration of the most important events in 
the life of our Lord, and 

b. Feasts of the Saints, in commemoration of holy persons ; and are subdi- 
vided into 

aa. Feasts of the Blessed Virgin and Mother of God, and 

bb. Feasts of other Saints. 

All the Feasts at present existing in the Catholic Church were not instituted 
at the commencement of Christianity, for the Feasts of the Saints could not be 
celebrated until after their death ; but the Feasts of the Lord and the Blessed 
Virgin were celebrated in the very beginning of the Church, although without 
any special command, as the Nativity, Epiphany, and Resurrection of our Lord, 
the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of the*Blessed Yirgiil. 

The celebration of these Feasts and their ceremonies were perfected by 
degrees, as the power of the Church could be developed Only at the end of the 
persecutioUj and the beginning of the liberty of the Church. 

According to their ilnportance the Feasts are also divided into double Feasts 
of the 1st and 2d class, and into double and simple Feasts. The greatest Festi- 
vals have an octave, that is, the celebration is not confined to one day, but is 
prolonged through a period of eight days. 



INTRODUCTION. 11 



Some Feasts are moveable fin^ immovable. The immovable Feasts are 
always celebrated on the same day of the year, the movable ones, however, can 
be changed. 

The movable Feasts are "Easter,'" and all the Feasts connected with it. 

Easter is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the Spring Equinox, 
(21st of March) and it so happens that it sometimes occurs in March and some- 
times in April. All the other Feasts are immovable. 

With the Feasts are connected also : /-•- " • i 

3. Vigils, meaning " watches during the night." The Pagaii^ had vigils, 
celebrating the whole night preceding a Festival, in honor of their gods. The 
same custom existed amongst the Jews, praying to God during the night. Thus 
says the royal prophet David in his 118th Psalm, 62d verse : 

"I rose at midnight to give praise to Thee for the judgments of Thy justifi- 
cations." 

And in Psalm 133d, 2d verse : "In the night lift up your hands to the holy 
places, and bless ye the Lord." 

The Christians in the time of the Apostles met during the night preceding 
a great Festival in the church, and prayed and sung there, preparing themselves 
for the coming Festival. This beautiful custom, however, Avas after a time 
abused, and the night services, in consequence, w^ere discontinued, and in its 
place fasting and prayer were ordered as a suitable preparation for the coming 
holy days. 

By the word Vigil we mean at present, in the language of the Church, a 
whole day preceding a Festival. 

Important days in the Ecclesiastical Year are also : 

4. The days of Fast and Abstinence, on which is commanded either a partial 
abstinence from food, or a total abstinence from the use of flesh-meat, or both 
together. Besides the vigils, the week-days of Advent were formerly fast-days, 
as are at present the week-days of Lent. Then come the Ember days, which 
fall on the Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays of the four seasons of the 
year. It is not certa^in, why they were introduced. Some ecclesiastical writers 
say, that they were instituted to counteract the excesses, committed by the 
Pagans during the changes of the seasons of the year, and again, to implore the 
assistance of God, and to thank Him for all blessings received from Him at the 
different seasons of the year, and in a special manner to sanctify the changes of 
the seasons by fasting and prayer. 

The Ember days are also set apart for the ordination of Priests ; the Faith- 
ful, therefore, should beg of God, by fasting and praying, to give worthy minis- 
ters to His Church. Days of abstinence (which were in the early ages of the 
Church days of fast) are all the Fridays of the year. The rest of the week-days 
of the Ecclesiastical Year, upon which there are no Feasts, are called 

5. Ferias — Feria signifies the day of lest, — originally such days were ap- 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

pointed for divine service, and all labor viras forbidden. At the present time, 
however, it has a very different meaning. 

In the language of the Church, therefore, Monday is the second Feria, 
Tuesday, the third, &c., &c. At the Ferias the Mass of the preceding Sunday 
is read. 

Some Ferias have a special meaning and a Mass of their own, as the week- 
days of Advent, Lent, the Ember-days and the Rogation-days. There are also 
so-called "greater Ferias :" as Ash Wednesday and the days in Holy Week, which 
exclude the celebration of even the greatest Feasts. 



-J 



riEST PART 

OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR. 



CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



THE HOLY SEASON OF ADVENT. 

X HE ecclesiastical year commences with Advent, which means the Comings and 
the season of Advent is so called because it is instituted as a time of preparation 
for the Feast of the Incarnation and Birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, 
and of His gracious coming upon earth. 

Advent has, however, in the Catholic Church, a two-fold meaning. It first 
recalls to our mind the period of expectation in the old law, which preceded the 
real Advent of our Saviour on earth ; secondly, it is to us a time of preparation 
for the spiritual Advent of Christ, which, in the Catholic Church, we, celebrate 
every year upon Christmas. 

The holy season of Advent is therefore 

1. A Time of Commemoration. "When our first parents violated the com- 
mandment of God, they brought misery and ruin not only upon themselves, but 
also upon all their posterity, because according to the Holy Scriptures, "Death 
passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned." (Rom. 5: 12.) , God, notwith- 
standing, revealed His infinite love and mercy to mankind in the most conclusive 
manner, for He desired to save fallen man from eternal perdition, and to give 
him the hope of accomplishing his original destiny, eternal happiness in heaven. 
For that end He sent His only-begotton Son into the world, to atone by His 
sacrifice, suffering and death on the Cross for the sins of mankind, reconciling 
them with Himself and His heavenly Father, and to restore to them their lost 
inheritance, the grace and friendship of God, for God so loved the world that 
"He gave His only-begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not 
perish, but have life everlasting.'* John 3: 16. 



14 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



Even to our first parents God promised after their fall a Redeemer, saying 
to the serpent, the wicked deceiver, by whose malice the fall of man was accom- 
plished : "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed 
and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 
3 : 15. By the word "woman" is understood, according to the Holy Scriptures, 
the Blessed Virgin Mary, and by the seed her divine Son, the promised Saviour, 
Jesus Christ, who would destroy the power of the devil and his dominion over 
man. This promise, however, was not to be fulfilled until after a long period of 
expectation. Man had to feel the degradation and misery into which he had 
fallen by sin, and the evil consequences of sin. He had to feel his own weak- 
ness and helplessness in regard to his salvation, and the necessity of assistance 
and salvation through God, and therefore a sincere desire for heavenly assist- 
ance and for the promised Redeemer had to be awakened within him. At the 
same time, fallen man had to be prepared in manifold ways for the reception of 
the Saviour, and for a participation in the fruits of Redemption. This time of 
expectation lasted 4000 years — a long and sad period, for Heaven had been 
closed by sin, so that none could enter. Sin and God's wrath weighed heavily 
upon man; the sad consequences of the first sin were more fully developed — ob- 
scurity of the understanding, impotency to do good, and sinful inclinations being 
the results, so that ignorance, superstition and even idolatry, with its wicked 
accompaniments of every species, increased from day to day, and there w^as no 
one who could remedy the evil, or draw man from his degraded condition, and 
elevate him to his original dignity. God, however, consoled man, from time to 
time, by means of revelations which He communicated to him, through His chosen 
servants, the Patriarchs and Prophets, during the time of expectation, but espe- 
cially by renewing His first promise of a Redeemer, upon w^hich nearly all 
prophecies of the old law were founded, and whose life and death were foretold, 
many centuries before His coming, by inspired men. By these continued revela- 
tions and repeated promises of a Redeemer, not only the true knowledge of God, 
the true belief in Him, and the expectation of a Redeemer, w^ere preserved, 
among at least one portion of mankind, the chosen people of Israel, but the 
desire also for redemption and salvation through Him. How beautifully does 
Isaiah, the Prophet, express the desire of man for a Redeemer, saying: ''Drop 
down dew, ye heavens from above, and let the clouds rain the just, let the earth 
be opened and bud forth a Saviour." Isaiah, 45 : 8. 

It was at the same time the duty of the divine messenger, to prepare man 
worthily for the Advent of the Redeemer, and hence the Prophets of the old 
law, to the last and greatest of all, who ''came to prepare the way of the Lord," 
exhorted man to penance and amendment ; to the faithful observance of God's 
commandments and to a becoming reception of the Saviour. 

It is the desire of the Catholic Church to remind us every year, during the 
four weeks of Advent of the 4000 years of Jewish expectation, to consider the 



FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 15 



infinite love and mercy of our heavenly Father which He manifested in the 
sending of a Redeemer, and in His manifold decrees for the salvation of man, 
through so many hundreds of years, and as our forefathers were filled with a 
longing desire for the promised Saviour, so should we be grateful to Him, who 
long ago fulfilled His promise, sent into the world a Redeemer, and applied so 
abundantly to us the fruits of Redemption ; — therefore does the Priest read dur- 
ing Advent, in the canonical hours, many passages of the prophecies of Isaiah, 
because he announced to the Jewish people the most important prophecies of the 
coming Saviour. 

The holy season of Advent is 

2. A Time of Preparation. As our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in the 
fullness of time became man to accomplish the work of Redemption, so He de- 
sires to come again every Christmas in a spiritual manner and, according to the 
language of the Church, to enter into our hearts, to be re-born, as it were, in 
us in a spiritual manner, and to make us partakers of the fruits of Redemption. 
The holy season of Advent should therefore be to us, what the time of expecta- 
tion was to the Jews, a time of desire for the spiritual coming of Christ, and of 
a worthy preparation for Christmas, at which time we celebrate His spiritual 
Advent. The holy season of Advent is, therefore, like Lent, a time of penance, 
mortification, prayer and meditation. During this time, if no Festival occurs, 
the vestments worn by the Priest at the altar are of a violet color, meaning sor- 
row, and the Gloria in excelsis is not said. 

In former times, if not every day, at least three days in the week were kept 
as fast-days, and all public amusements were prohibited. Besides the holy sea- 
son of Advent commenced sooner, lasting over forty days, in consequence of which 
the early writers of the Church called it a second Lent. 



FIRST SUNDAY m ADVENT. 

This day, the first of the Ecclesiastical Year, is of special importance, and 
belongs to the five principal Sundays, which excludes the celebration of even 
the greatest Festivals. 

Introit of the Mass. — Ps. 24. 

"To thee, Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In thee, my G.od, I put my 
trust. Let me not be ashamed. Neither let my enemies laugh at me; for none 
of them that wait on thee shall be confounded. 

" Shew, Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths," 

Glory be to the Father, &;c. 



16 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



This prayer of the royal Prophet, for God's assistance, is full of devotion and 
confidence, and very appropriately expresses the desire of Christians at this 
holy season, for light and salvation through the promised Saviour. 

Praykb. 

"Stir up thy might, we beseech thee, Lord, and come, that by thy pro- 
tection we may deserve to be delivered from the threatening dangers of our sins, 
and by thy deliverance be saved. Who livest and reignest with God the Father 
in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen." 

EPISTI.E.— Romans, 13: 11-14. 

"Brethren, knowing the time, that it is now the hour for us to rise from 
sleep ; for now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is 
passed an(^ the day is at hand ; let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, 
and put on the armor of light; let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in 
rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention 
and strife ; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ." 

How admirably adapted and full of meaning is this short exhortation of the 
Apostle for the first Sunday in Advent. It contains abitndant matter for earnest 
meditation and moral practice, and therefore serves us as an excellent prepara- 
tion for Christmas. 

Gospel.— Luke 21 : 25-33. 
"At that time Jesus said to his disciples: There shall be signs in the sun 
and in the moon and in the stars ; and upon the earth distress of nations, by 
reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves, men wither- 
ing awa}^ for fear and expectation of what shall come upon them. For the 
powers of heaven shall be moved ; and then they shall see the Son of man com- 
ing in a cloud with great power and majesty. But when these things begin to 
come to pass, look up and lift up your head, because your redemption is at 
hand. And he spoke to them a similitude : see the fig-tree> and all the trees ; 
when they now shoot forth their fruits, you know that summer is nigh ; so you 
also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the Kingdom of 
God is at hand. Amen, I say to you, this generation shall not pass away, till 
all things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass> aw^ay, but my words shall 
not pass away." 

The Church presents to us in this Gospel another Advent of the Son of God 

His coming on the Last Day — and begs us, by penance and amendment, to 

prepare ourselves worthily for the gracious Advent of Christ, and to receive 

Him with such dispositions, that we may become partakers of the fruits of the 



SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 17 

Redemption and not be confounded at Ilis coming on the day of Judgment. 
For the same Saviour, who has redeemed the workl, shall, judge the world, and 
reward those who, by a virtuous life, became partakers of the fruits of the Re- 
demption, and punish those who, by sin, made themselves unworthy of them ; 
the Saviour has said: "Neither doth the Father judge any man, but hath given 
all judgment to the Son, that all men may honor the Son, as they honor the 
Father." John 5: 22, 23. St. Augustine says: "He shall be the Judge, who 
stood before the judge ; He shall condemn the guilty who was condemned inno- 
cently. It is just that those see the Judge who are to be judged, but those to 
be judged are the good and the wicked ; it is, therefore, necessary that, to the 
good and to the wicked, the form of a servant should be shoAvn ; the form of God, 
however, will be seen by the good alone." 

Meditating on the terrible day of judgment, should fill us with a greater fear 
of sin, and incite us to do penance and amend our lives, especially when we re- 
member the w^ords of the holy Scriptures: — " That the time when this day shall 
Come, has never been revealed to mortal." Our Saviour verifies this, by say- 
intr to his disciples: "But of that day and hour, no one knoweth; no, not the 
angels of heaven, but the Father alone." (Matthew 24 : 36; Mark 13 : 32.) 
Not only is it uncertain, when the day of judgment will come, but even the day 
upon which we will die, that day which decides our destiny for eternity. 
"Watch ye, therefore, because you know not what hour your Lord will come." 
(Matthew 24: 42.) 

Therefore, the wise man admonishes us to remember our end (death, judg- 
ment, heaven, and hell), to avoid evil, and to prepare for death ; for as it is 
written — " In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt sin no more." 
(Ecclesiasticus 7 : 40.) St. Augustine says : " What do you care, ivhen the 
day of judgment comes? Live, as if it would soon come, and you will have 
nothing to fear ; for as your last day finds- you, so will you find the last day ; — 
as you die, so shall you be judged." St. Jerome also says : " Beloved brethren, 
meditate seriously upon the last day, amend your lives, reform your morals, 
overcome evil temptations, and repent of your sins in tears and sorrow ; for then 
only can you meet without fear the eternal Judge, if you now anticipate His 
severe judgments by having a salutary dread of sin." 



SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 

Introit of the Mass. — Isaiah 30. 

" People of Sion, behold the Lord shall come to save the nations ; and the 
Lord shall make the glory of his voice to be heard in the joy of your heart, 
vol. I.— 2. 



18 CHKISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



Give eax, thou that rulest Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. 
Glory b€ to the Father," &;c. 

These words, in which the prophet announced to the Jews the coming of the 
Messiah, exhorts us to implore with the Bojal Prophet, the assistance of 
Almighty God, the kind Ruler of his people. 

" Stir up our hearts, Lord, to prepare the ways of thy only-begotten 
Son ; that by His coming we may be worthy to serve thee with purified minds, 
"Who live'st and reignest," &;c. 

Epistle. — JJomaBS 15 : 4—13. 

" Brethren, what things soever were written, were written for our learniiig ; 
that through patience and the comfort of tlie Scriptures, we might have hope. 
Now, the God of patience and of comfort, grant you to l)e of one mind, one 
towards another, according to Jesus Christ ; that with one mind, and with one 
mouth, you may glorify God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Ohrist. Where- 
fore, receive one another, a« Christ also has received you, unto the honor of God. 
For I say that Christ Jesus was minister of the circumcision for the truth of 
God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. But, that the Gentiles are 
to glorify God for his mercy, as it is written : Therefore, will I confess to 
thee, Lord, among the G-entiies, and will sing to thy name. And again he 
saitt: Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again: Praise the 
Lord, all ye Gentiles ; and magnify him, all ye people. And again, Isaiah 
saith : There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise up to rule the 
Gentiles, in him the Gentiles shall hope. Now, the God of hope fill you with 
all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in .hope, and in the power 
of the Holy Ghost. " 

The Apostle r^nincfe Christians, that Jesus Christ came into this world for all 
— Jews and Gentiles — ^that both in Hke manner were called upon to be sharers 
in His heavenly kingdom. They should, therefore, lay aside all their enmities, 
and praise with one accord the goodness and mercy of God. Of no less import- 
ance is the lesson of the Apostle to us, in which we are told, that we belong to 
those, for whom the Son of God came into this world, and whom He called to be 
partakers of His kingdom. 

Gospel.— Matthew 11 : 2-10. 

" At that time, when John liad heard, in prison, the works of Christ ; sending 
two of his disciples,, they said to him: Art thou he that art to come, or do we 
look for:another? And Jesus naaking answer, said to them,: Go and relate to 



J 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 19 

John, what jou have heard amd seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers 
are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel 
preached to them ; and blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in me. And 
when they went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes, concerning 
John : What went you out into the desert to see ? a reed shaken with the wind? 
But what went ye out to see ? a man clothed in soft garments ? Behold, 
they that are clothed in soft garments are in the houses of kings. But what 
went ye out to see ? a prophet ? Yea, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 
For this is he of whom it is written : Behold, I send my angel before thy face, 
who shall prepare thy way before thee." 

The words of our Saviour, " And blessed is he that shall not be scandalized 
in me," contains a warning to the disciples of St. John, and to the Jews pres- 
ent, to overcome their prejudices, in order not to be deprived of the fruits of 
redemption. We must also apply them to ourselves, and " take heed that we 
are not scandalized in Him or in His doctrine." 

The praise, which our Saviour bestowed upon St. John, shows plainly 
that this great prophet entertained no doubt concerning the sacred mission of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, and at the same time, points out to us those virtues, by 
which men become truly great ; and as we see and venerate them in the greatest 
of all the prophets — the precursor of the Messiah — so, also, should we imitate 
them, thus becoming worthy followers of Christ. 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 

Introit of the Mass. — Pliilippians 4. 

■*' Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice. Let your modesty be 
known to all men,, for the Lord is nigh. Be nothing solicitous, but in every- 
thing, by prayer, let your requests be made known to God. Lord, thou hast 
blessed thy land, thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob. Glory be to 
the Father," &.c. 

These words contain, in reference to the liberation of mankind, through 
Christ, from the servitude of Satan (of which the deliverance of the Jews fram 
Babylonian captivity was the type), an exhortation to rejoice in all modesty, 
having confidence in God, as the time of the coming of the Lord approaches. 

Prayer. ' 

^^We beseech thee, Lord, incline thine ear to our prayers, and en- 
lighten the darkness of our mind by the grace of thy visitations. Who livest 
and reignest," &c. 



20 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



Epistle.— Philippians 4 : 4-7. 
^' Brethren, rejoice in the Lord always ; again, I say, rejoice. Let your 
modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh. Be nothing solicitous, but 
in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your petitions 
be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasseth all under- 
standing, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Nearly the whole of this epistle is contained in the Introit, the church desir- 
ing to impress upon om- minds the beautiful counsel of the Apostle, who under- 
stands by the words, "Rejoice in the Lord," the only joy worthy of a Chris- 
tian : the being called to the true belief, the hope of salvation, and the justification 
and remission of sins. This joy will have no end ; for, according to St. Chrysostom, 
*'None can lose that joy, who rejoices in the Lord, whatever may befall them; 
all other joys are perishable, and cannot dispel sadness ; the fear of God, how- 
ever, effects all things; it produces such joy, that no misfortune can take it from 
us. He that fears God, and trusts in Him, has found the root of joy, and pos- 
sesses all the sources of happiness. Like a drop of water falling into the sea, 
and disappearing at once, so are all the evils of a good man destroyed." The 
peace of God, which "surpasseth all understanding," is our reconciliation with God 
the Father, through His divine Son — peace of conscience — peace and har- 
mony among men. It was this threefold peace which the angels announced 
at the birth of the Saviour — " and on earth peace to men of good will." It was 
this peace which He gave to His disciples, saying : " Peace I leave with you, 
my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, do I give unto you." 
(John 14 : 27.) 

Gospel.— John 1 : 19-28. 

" At that time, the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to John, to 
ask him. Who art thou ? And he confessed, and did not deny ; and he confessed, 
I am not the Christ. And they asked him. What then ? Art thou Elias ? And 
he said, I am not. Art thou the prophet ? And he answered. No. They said, 
therefore, unto him : Who art thou, that we may give an answer unto them, tha-t 
sent us ? What sayest thou of thyself ? He said, I am the voice of the one 
coming in the wilderness : Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the 
prophet Isaiah. And they that were sent, were of the Pharisees. And they 
asked him, and said to him. Why, then, dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, 
nor Elias, nor the prophet ? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water ; 
but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not ; the same is 
he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me, the latchet of whose shoe 
I am not worthy to loose. These things were done in Bethania, beyond the 
Jordan, where John was baptizing." 

The Gospel of this Sunday draws our attention to the life and deeds of St. 
John the Baptist, who preceded our Lord, in order to make ready his way, by 



FOURTH SUNDAY IX ADVENT. 21 

preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins, and to prepare the 
people for a worthy reception of Him. We should also be mindful of the earnest 
preaching of St. John the Baptist, especially in the holy season of Advent, and 
prepare ourselves in a becoming manner for the spiritual coming of Christ. 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 

IxTROiT. — Isaiah 14. 

" Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just ; 
let the earth be opened and bud forth a Saviour. 

''The heavens show forth the glory of God and the firmament declareth the 
work of his hands. Glory be to the Father," &;c. 

Isaiah expresses in these words the longing of the Jews for the real Advent 
of the Redeemer. The desire of Christians can also be expressed in the same 
words. At the same time the royal prophet rejoices a-nd praises God for the 
approaching coming of His only-begotten Son into the world. 

Prayer. 

" Stir up thy might, we beseech thee, Lord, and come ; and succor us 
with great power ; that by the help of thy grace the indulgence of thy mercy 
may accelerate what our sins impede. Who livest," &;c. 

Epistle. — 1 Cor. 4 : 1-15. 

''Brethren, let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the 
dispensers of the mysteries of God. Here, now, it is required among the dis- 
pensers, that a man be found faithful. But to me it is a very small thing to he 
judged by you or by man's day ; but neither do I judge my own self. For I am 
not conscious to myself of anything, yet am I not hereby justified ; but he that 
judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge not before the time, until the Lord 
come ; who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make 
manifest the counsels of the hearts ; and then shall every man have praise from 
God." 

The exhortation of the Apostle, to respect Priests as the "dispensers of the 
mysteries of God," is to be particularly remarked on this Sunday, because 
on the Ember-days of the preceding week Priests are ordained. The faithful 
should, therefore, remember the dignity of the Catholic priesthood, and respect 
them accordingly. The Epistle, at the same time, speaks of the approaching 



22 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



judgment, when our Lord shall reveal the most secret thoughts, desires, words 
and deeds of men, and every one receive his reward or punishment, and if St. 
Paul confesses "that he is not justified, although not conscious of anjthiijg," 
who can presume to justify himself through self-esteem or pride ? Who, on the 
contrary, should not be filled with holy fear, when he considers the weakness 
of human nature, and, according to the admonition of the Apostle, "work out his 
salvation in fear and trembling." Philip 2 : 12. 

©osFtE.— Lufee 3 : 1-16. 

"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Csesar, l*ontius Pilate being 
governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip, his brother, 
tetrarch of Judea and the country of Traehonitis, and Lysanias, tetrarch of 
Abilena, under the High-priests Annas and Caiphas ; the word of the Lord came 
to John, the son of Zachary, in the desert. And he came into all the country 
about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for th« remission of sins ; as 
it is written in the book of the sayings of Isaiah the prophet : A voice of one cry- 
ing in the wilderness : Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. 
Every valley shall be filled ; and every mountain and hill shall be brought low ; 
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain; and all fl^sh shall 
see the salvation of God." 

This Gospel, like that of the third Sunday in Advent, speaks of the works of 
St. John the Baptist. The Evangelist describes thus minutely the spiritual and 
'temporal rulers of that time, because, according to the prophecy of Jacob, the 
/ sceptre was taken from Juda at the coming of the Prince of Peace. In contrast 
to the many kinds of purifications necessary in the old law, the Evangelist calls 
the baptism of St. John, "the baptism for the remission of sins," not as if by it 
sins were forgiven, but, that by it men were called u^nto do penance; for by it 
alone could they obtain forgiveness for their sins. 



THE VIGIL OF CHRISTMAS. 

(24th of December.) 
Introit. — Exod. 16 : 6, 7. 

** Hiis day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us : and in the 
inorning you shall see his glory. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof ; 
the world and all they that dwell therein. (Ps. 23 : 1.) Glory be to the 
Father," &c. 



THE VIGIL OF CHRISTMAS. 2S 



The church proposes yery appropriately to Christians these words of the 
Pi'ophet, that they may always remember the glory of God as did the Jews of 
old — and His love and mercy, revealed to them through His Incarnation and 

Birth. 

Prater. 

" God, who givest us joy by the annual expectation of our redemption, 
grant that we may securely see Him coming as our judge, whom we joyfully 
receive as our Redeemer, our Lard Jesus Christ thy Son, who livest," &c. 

Epistle. — Rom, 1 : 1-6. 

" Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apastle, separated unto 
the Gospel of God, which he had promised before by has prophets in the Holy 
Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was made to him of the seed of David ac- 
cording to the flesh, who was predestinated the Son of God in power according 
to the spirit of sanctification, by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ 
from the dead, by whom w^e have received grace and apostleship, for obedience 
to the faith in all nations for his name, among whom are you also the called of 
Jesus Christ." 

The Church refers, in these words of the great Apostle, to the incomprehen- 
sible decree of divine love, by which His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, came 
into this world, to lead us to eternal life, by our willingly believing in His holy 
name. St. Thomas truly says, ^' Submission, obedience, and good- will are ne- 
cessary for belief, for when the Lord becomes the teacher, we must never question, 
but accept." 

Gospel.— Matt. 1 : 48-21. 

"When Mary the mother of Jesus, was e&poused to Joseph^ before they came 
together she was found with child of the Holy Ghost : whereupon, Joseph, her 
husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded 
to put her away privately. But while he thought an these things, behold the 
angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying, Joseph^ son of David, 
fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy wife^ for that which is coneeived in her is 
of the Holy Ghost. And &he shall bring forth a son ; and thou shalt call his 
name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins*" 

When St. Joseph became the husband of Mary, he knew nothing of the great 
mystery of the Incarnation taking place within her, but it was revealed to him 
by an angel sent from Heaven, which greatly consoled this haly man, and from 
that time until the birth of her Divine Son, he watched over and respected the 
Virgin Mother of God. 

On the eve of Christmas, it is customary among Christians to have a Christ- 
mas-tree, ornamented with golden fruits, presents, and many burning lights, and 



24 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



to gather around it, to the joy and delight of the children, to whom the gifts are 
then presented. This beautiful custom is full of meaning ; as b j a tree our iBrst 
parents brought ruin upon man, so by a tree was the salvation of man accom- 
plished, for upon the tree of the cross the Son of man suffered and died. The 
tree of the cross, of which the tree of life standing in the garden of Paradise was 
the figure, is represented by the evergreen Christmas-tree, at the same time it 
is also an emblem of Him, who gave us life from the tree of the cross, and who was 
announced to us by the Prophet as "a rod out of the root of Jesse," who was the 
father of David, the ancestor of Christ, according to His humanity. The golden 
fruits of the Christmas-tree signify, in contrast to the fruits of the forbidden tree, 
which brought disgrace and death upon man, the blessed fruits of the cross, by 
which man received the%grace of God, gained His friendship, and life eternal. 
The burning' lights of the Christmas-tree represent the heavenly light, which is 
Christ coming upon earth, filling the world with light, until then full of the 
darkness of sin and infidelity. The Christmas presents, with which the hearts 
of old and young are gladdened, remind us of the magnificent gifts which our 
Heavenly Father has bestowed upon His children 



NATIVITY OF OUR LORD, OR CHRISTMAS, 

(December 25th.) 

This Feast, the greatest of the Ecclesiastical Year, is justly called the Festi- 
val of Festivals ; it reminds us of the fulfilment of the prophecies, and of the 
birth of Christ, who was the expectation of all nations, who redeemed the world 
and made men His brethren, children of God, and heirs of heaven. 

" The Feast approaching," says St. Chrysostom, " should fill us with veneration 
and holy awe, and he would not err, who should call it the mother of all Festivals. 
What Festival is it ? The birth of Christ in the flesh, and from it Epiphany, 
Easter, Ascension and Pentecost derive their origin." Extraordinary priv- 
ileges are attached to this great Festival, it has not only an octave, but its cele- 
bration continues until the 6th Sunday after Epiphany. If Christmas falls upon 
Friday, the use of flesh-meat is allowed, because it is a season of joy to all Chris- 
tians. A third privilege belonging exclusively to Christmas is, that on that day, 
every priest says three masses, in honor of the three births of the Saviour, His 
eternal birth in the bosom of His Heavenly Father, His temporal birth, in the 
fulness of time, of the ever Blessed Virgin Mary, and his spiritual birth in the 
hearts of men^ 



NATIVITY OF OUR LORD, OR CHRISTMAS. 2o 

IXTROIT OF THE FIRST MaSS. 

^' The Lord hath said to me ; thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. 
Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things ? Glory be 
to the Father," &c. 

These words recall to our minds the eternal birtb of Christ, against whom 
the Gentiles still rage in vain. 

Pratek. 
'' God, who hast made this most holy night shine forth with the brightness 
of the true light, grant, we beseech thee, that we may enjoy his happiness in 
heaven, the mystery of whose light we have known upon earth. Who livest," &;c. 

Epistle.— Titus 2 : 11-15. 

^' Dearly beloved, the grace of God, our Saviour, hath appeared to all men, 
instructing us, that denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live so- 
berly, and justly, and godly in this world, looking for the blessed hope and 
coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave 
himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse to 
himself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works. These things speak and 
exhort: in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

By these words of the Epistle, the Church reminds us of the infinite love, 
which the Son of God has shown to us, through His Incarnation, thereby re- 
deeming us and making us His chosen people ; at the same time we are taught, 
how to become worthy of the promises of Christ. The holy Pope Leo the Great 
says, "Let us thank God, the Father, through His Son^T^ the Holy Ghost, who 
in His infinite love had mercy on us, and as we were dead in sin, brought us to 
life in Christ, so that in Him we may be created anew." 

Gospel of the First Mass. — Luke 2: 1-14. 

" At that time there went forth a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the 
whole world should be enrolled. This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus 
the governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own 
city. And Joseph also went up from Gallilee out of the city of Nazareth, into 
Judea, the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house 
and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his espoused wife, who was with 
child. And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accom- 
plished, that she should be delivered ; and she brought forth her first-born son, 
and wrapped him up in swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger, because 
there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country 
shepherds watching and keeping the night-watches over their flock. And, behold, 



26 CHRISTMAS-CYGLU&. 



an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about 
them, and they feared with a great fear. And the angel said to them : Fear not ; 
for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people ; for 
this day is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. 
And this shall be a sign unto you : You shall find the infant wrapped in swad- 
dling-clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a 
multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying : Glory to God in th^ 
highest, and on earth peace to men of good will." 

In these simple, but not less sublime and touching words, the Evangelist re- 
cords the birth of the Son of God, and all the important circumstances attend- 
ing it. Even the time, pointed out by the Evangelist, agrees in a wonderful 
manner with the coming of the expected Saviour, for, as had not been the case 
for many centuries, universal peace reigned upon earth, so that the world 
cleansed from the curse of war, and adorned with the palm of peace, could re- 
ceive its Lord and King, who, as Prince of Peace^ brought heavenly peace to 
men. 

Li obedience to the decree of the Roman Emperor, Mary and Joseph went 
from Nazareth where they lived, to Bethlehem, there to be enrolled. The time 
appointed for Mary to bring forth her Divine Son had come, and the prophecy 
of Michssas was fulfilled : " And thou, Bethlehem, Ephrata, art a little one 
among the thousands of Judea ; out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is 
to be the ruler in Israel, and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days 
of eternity." 

Thus we see a pagan emperor unwittingly assisting in the fulfillment of the 
prophecy of the birth-place of the Son of God. 

According to the interpretations of sacred writers, the name of the city, 
Bethlehem, is full of signification. Gregory the Great, says, "He was born in 
Bethlehem," which means " the house of bread," for He has said, " I am the liv- 
ing bread which came down from heaven." (John 6 : 51.) The birth-place of our 
Lord, therefore, was called the house of bread, because He would there appear 
in the flesh, who desired to feed the souls of the elect with heavenly food. 

After a fatiguing journey, Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem; but great 
trouble still awaited them. The city was filled with persons who had come thither 
for the same purpose, and no room could be found in any house for this holy 
pair ; they were at last obliged to take refuge in a stable, where was born the 
promised King, the long-expected Messiah, Jesus Christ. 

incomprehensible mystery of the infinite love and mercy of our divine 
Saviour ! He, whose abode is in heaven, and whose footstool is the earth. He 
is born in the most humble corner of the earth ; He, whose throne is above the 
stars, whom angels serve, lies in a manger exposed to storm and cold, warmed 
only by the breath of animals. " Where is the palace of this n.ewly born King V* 



NATIVITY OF OUR LORD, OR CHRISTMAS. 27 



sajs St. Bernard; 'Svhere are His courtiers? A stable is His palace, a manger 
His thro-ne, and Mary and Joseph His courtiers." But why did He come in 
such humility, in such pov'erty, as a helpless child, not clothed with the pomp 
and majesty of a king? because He desired from His very birth to commence 
the work of redemption. He wished, as a child, to suffer and be punished for our 
sins ; as a child He desired to teach men to despise earthly power and greatness, 
to lay aside luxury, pride and sensuality, and by humility and solf-denial become 
His brethren. "Before He could speak with His tongue," says St. Bernard, 
"all in and about Him taught and preached ; every member of His body was 
even eloquent. He preaches now by example ; but the day will come, when He 
will preach by word ; He chose the manger to condemn the glory and vanity of 
the world ; His tears. His swaddling-clothes, all preach penance at the Birth of 
Christ." 

Although our Saviour was born in such humility and poverty, we should, 
nevertheless, celebrate this event always in a becoming manner. Our heavenly 
Father wished to glorify His Son at His birth, and as the World manifested no 
interest in this birth. Heaven rejoiced over it, and Angels announced it to men. 
And to whom was it first proclaimed ? not to the rich nor to the great, — ^how could 
they have believed in Him, a poor child lying in a manger ? — but to the poor and 
and humble shepherds, who that night watched over their flocks, in the same 
fields, where David had watched when a shepherd. The brightness of God shone 
round about them, when the angel announced to them, that the long-expected 
Saviour was born, and, as in confirmation of these good tidings, the heavenly army 
praised God, saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men 
of good will." In the prophecies He is called the Prince of Peace in whose 
empire there should be no end of peace (Isaiah 9 : 7), and in the same sense 
David spoke of Him, "In his days shall justice spring up, and abundance of 
peace." (Ps. 71 : 7.) "He will speak peace unto his people, and unto his saints, 
and unto them that are converted to the heart." (Ps. 84 : 9.) 

The praises of the angels are almost daily repeated at the holy sacrifice of 
the mass, in the " Gloria in excelsis Deo," so that in reciting it, we may commem- 
orate the object for which the Son of God became man, and, united with the 
heavenly hosts, praise and glorify Him, in gratitude and love. 

Introit op the Second Mass. 

" A light shall shine upon us to day, for our Lord is born to us, and he shall 
be called Wonderful God, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the world to come, 
of whose reign there shall be no end. (Isaiah 9 : 6.) The Lord hath reigned, 
he is clothed with beauty, the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded 
himself. (Ps. 92 : 1.) Glory be to the Father." &c. 

These prophecies point to the divine attributes of Christ, and tell us of the 



28 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



great things He will do for the salvation of mankind ; it is, therefore, very proper 
for us at this time, to meditate on the sublime sentence : " And the word was made 
flesh." 

Praykr. 

^' Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we who are filled with the new 
light of Thy Incarnate Word, may show forth in our works, what faith displays 
in our mind. Through the same Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen." 

Epistle. 
^'Dearly beloved: The goodness of God our Saviour appeared; not by the 
works of justice, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, 
by the laver of regeneration, and renovation of the Holy Ghost, whom he hath 
poured forth upon us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour : that being 
justified by his grace, we may be heirs, according to hope of life everlasting; in 
Christ Jesus our Lord." 

These words of the Epistle draw our attention to the important fact, that our 
Redemption through Christ, was the work of His love and mercy, and not merited 
by us, since we are born in original sin, and could not, as children of God's wrath, 
find merit in His sight. This truth we should consider, and endeavor to excite 
within ourselves a sincere love for our Saviour. 

Gospel of the Second Mass. — Luke 2 : 15-20. 
^'At that time, the shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Beth- 
lehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass, which the Lord hath showed 
to us. And they came with haste ; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the 
infant lying in a manger. And seeing they understood of the word that had 
been spoken to them concerning this child. And all that heard wondered, and 
at those things that were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these 
words, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying 
and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto 
them." 

The narrative of this Gospel is connected with that of the first mass, the 
shepherds believing the words of the angel, went in haste to Bethlehem; they 
did not wait until daybreak, they did not even allow the care of their flocks to 
detain them, they delayed not on their way but came in haste^ until to their great 
joy they found the Divine Infant. They teach us to seek Jesus with fervor 
and joy. St. Ambrose says, '^ You see the shepherds in haste, none can find 
Jesus, who is slow to seek Him." 

IXTROIT OF THE ThIRD MaSS. 

" A child is born to us, and a Son is given to us, whose government is upon 
his shoulders, and his name shall be called the angel of great counsels. (Isaiah 



NATIVITY OF OUR LORD, OR CHRISTMAS. 29 

9 : 6. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle, for he hath done wonderful things. 
Glory be to the Father," &c. 

These words of the Prophet refer to the spiritual government of Christ and 
His divine mission ; the Church invites us to glorify God, on account of the mani- 
fold graces He has revealed to us in the Incarnation. 

Prater. 
"Grant, we beseeh Thee, Almighty God, that the new birth of Thy only-be- 
gotten Son in the flesh, may deliver us, whom the old servitude keeps dow^n un- 
der the yoke of sin. Through Christ, our Lord, Amen." 

Epistle of the Third Mass. — Heb. 1 : 1-12. 
'' God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spoke in times past to 
the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these days, hath spoken to us by his 
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom, also, he hath made 
the world : who, being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance, 
and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, 
sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high ; being made so much better 
than the Angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For to 
which of the Angels hath he said at any time, Thou art my son, to-day have I be- 
gotten thee. And again ; I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son. 
And again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world he saith : And let 
all the Angels of God adore him. And to the Angels, indeed, he saith : He that 
maketh his Angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But to the Son, 
Thy throne, God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of justice, is the sceptre of 
thy Kingdom. Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity ; therefore, God, 
thy God, hath annointed thee with the oil of gladness, above thy fellows. And 
thou, in the beginning, Lord, didst found the earth ; and the works of thy 
hands are the heavens. They shall perish, but thou shalt continue ; and they 
shall all grow old as a garment. And as a vesture shalt thou change them, and 
they shall be changed; but thou art the self-same, and thy years shall not fail." 

The Apostle clearly defines in the above Epistle the Divinity of Christ, His 
equality with the Father, and His superiority above all creatures, even the An- 
gels. He cites passages of the old law, and especially of the Psalms, in which 
the Heavenly Father declares the dignity of His only-begotten Son. By this, 
the Jews or Hebrews, to whom St. Paul wrote, were called upon to believe in 
Christ. In their own writings. Pie was announced to them as a Redeemer ; — but 
we, who, by the grace of God, believe in Him, should be the more confirmed in 
our faith. 



30 CHRISTMAS'CYCLUS. 



Gospel ok the Third Mass. — John 1 : 1-14. 
" In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word 
was God ; the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by 
him, and without him -was made nothing that was made ; in him w^s life, and 
the life was the light of men : and the light shineth in darkness, and the 
darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name 
was John. This man came for a witness to give testimony of the light, that all 
men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testi- 
mony of the light. That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that 
Cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, 
and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him 
not. But as many as received him, he gave them power to become the sons of 
God : to them that believe in his name, who are born not of blood, nor of the 
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made 
flesh, and dwelt among us : and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only- 
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." 

St. John wrote this Gospel towards the latter part of his life, against some 
heretics, who had attacked the divinity of Christ ; he speaks in a special man- 
ner of the Eternity and Omnipotence of the Word, w^ho was in the beginning 
with God the Father, by whom, as by tlie Father, all things were made, and 
he further calls the Word the true heavenly life, by whom sin and unbelief 
should be destroyed, the hearts of men enlightened, and tlie light of the true 
faith and the knowledge and worship of God spread over the earth. According 
to the Evangelist, many refused to receive the true faith ; for our Saviour Him- 
self says in another passage of the same Gospel, " Men love darkness rather 
than the light, for their ^orks were eril.'"' Johe (8: 19.) Those that received 
Him — that is, who believed in Him, not only in word but in deed— will be made 
children of God, in baptism; thereby participating in the imperishable inherit- 
ance of Heaven. It would be well for all Christians, on this festival, to refl.ect 
upon these great truths, and to remember most gratefully the infinite love of 
our heavenly Father in sending His Son into the world for our sake. Would, 
that we might receive the Son of God, who enters our hearts this day — in a 
spiritual manner — -better than did the Jews. Would, that our hearts might be 
free from sin and adorned with virtue, in order that He may live in us and we 
in Him. 



IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. .31 



FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE 
BLESSED VIRGINT MARY. 

(8th December.) 

This Feast, not only the most glorious of the Festivals of the Blessed Vir- 
gin, but also one of the greatest of the Ecclesiastical Year, r-eminds us of the 
doctrine of the Catholic Church — that Mary, the Mother of God, on account of 
her dignity as His mother, was, by a special grace from God, immaculate from 
the very moment of her conception, and consequently pleasing in His sight. 
Hence the title of the "Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin," and 
the feast in her honor. According to the Holy Scriptures, man is conceived in 
sin ; Mary, however, was excepted from this law, because she was " full of 
grace." She was chosen from among all women, to become the mother of His 
only-begotten Son, and as a virgin conceived and brought forth her Divine Son, 
How pure and holy must not the vessel be, that contained the Purest and Most 
Holy — how spotless must she not be, in whom the Son of God took flesh, who 
carried Him in her virgin-womb, whom the God-man Himself venerated and 
obeyed as His mother ! 

If, in the temple of Jerusalem, where the ark of the covenant was kept, no 
one with unclean hands could offer sacrifice to the Lord, with how much greater 
pm-ity must not the Blessed Virgin have been adorned, to have been chosen as 
the abode of the Son of God, and in whom the prophecies of the old law were 
fulfilled. Can we suppose that she, who was exalted by God himself, could ever 
have been displeasing in His sight, which would have been the case, if she had 
been conceived in sin ? When the Angels were created in purity and holiness, 
would it have been just for the " Queen of Angels" to have been their inferior 
for even a moment ? If our first mother. Eve, by whose disobedience sin and 
death came into this world, at her creation was pleasing in the sight of God, 
why should God deny this prerogative to her aaIio, as the second Eve, brought 
redemption into the world by giving birth to her Divine Son ? It is predicted 
of her in the Holy Scriptures, that " She shall crush the head of the serpent," 
our enemy from the beginning of the world, thereby plainly indicating that she 
should never l)e for an instant under the dominion of the Evil one. 

The words of Solomon have reference to her, when he says : " Tliou art all 
fair, my love, and there is not a spot in thee." (Cant. 4 : 7.) "As the lily 
among thorns, so is my love among the daughters." (Cant. 2 : 2.) 

The faithful have always believed in the Immaculate Conception of the 
Mother of God, and in her purity through life. St. Augustin says : " Mary was 
Altogether excepted from the wrath of the first judgment ; I will not even ask 
the question, for the honor of the Lord, whether she was ever contaminated 



32 . CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



with sin ; for we know, that she has received most special graces to conquer sin, 
because she conceived Him, lolio could never sin." 

Although it had not yet been formally declared a dogma of the Church, 
Christians in all ages have always celebrated this festival with great devotion. 
Popes, in different councils, have maintained the Immaculate Conception of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary — especially in the council of Trent, during its fifth session. 
This holy council declares, that it is not its object, to " include the Immaculate 
Mother of God," when mention is made of original sin, but that the constitu- 
tion of Pope Sixtus TV. should be maintained under severe penalties. 

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was declared an Article of faith 
by Pope Pius IX., now reigning. The many dangers threatening the Church, 
such as the increasing efi'orts of infidelity, lukewarmness, and indifference in 
religious matters, and an insatiate thirst for riches, combined, caused the Holy 
Pather to endeavor and excite in the hearts of the Faithful a greater veneration 
for the Mother of God, and to obtain her intercession against the many dangers, 
to which the Church was exposed. The Holy Father determined first to consult 
with all the Bishops, and for this purpose called them to Home, the centre of 
Christianity, where, on the 8th of December, 1854, in the presence of nearly all 
the Bishops of the Catholic Church, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed 
Virgin and Mother of God was declared an Article of faith, and the festival in 
her honor was to be observed as a holy day of obligation. 

This festival falls in Advent, and serves as a preparation for Christmas, as 
both are intimately connected ; for, as in the language of the Holy Scriptures, 
Christ is called the Sun of Justice, because Pie destroyed the darkness of sin and 
infidelity, and enlightened all men — so Mary is justly called the pure daiun, 
preceding the brilliant day of faith, and proclaiming the rising' of the heaven- 
ly Sun. 

Introit of the Mass 
" Hail, holy parent, who, as a happy mother, brought forth the King who 
rules heaven and earth from eternity to eternity. My heart hath uttered a good 
word; I speak my works to the King. Glory be to the Father," &c. 

By these words, generally used at the Introit of the Feasts of the Blessed 
Virgin, the Church desires to give due honor and veneration to the Mother of 
God, and, at the same time, all honor to her Divine Son. 

Prater. 
"We beseech thee, Lord, to bestow on Thy servants the gift of heavenly 
grace, that for those, to whom the Blessed Virgin's maternity was the beginning 
of salvation, the votive solemnity of her Immaculate Conception may procure 
increase of peace, through Christ. Amen." 



IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 33 



Epistlk.— Prov. 8: 22-35. 

" The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made any- 
thing from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of old before the 
earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived ; 
neither had the fountains of waters sprung out : the mountains with their huge 
bulk had not as yet been established : before the hills I was brought forth : he 
had not as yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world. When 
he prepared the heavens, I was present ; when with a certain law and compass 
he inclosed the depths ; w^hen he established the sky above, and poised the fount- 
ains of Welters ; when he compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the 
waters,that they should not pass their limits; when he balanced the foundations 
of the earth, I was with him forming all things ; and was delighted every day 
playing before him at all times ; playing in the world, and my delights were to 
be with the children of men. Now, therefore, ye children, hear me, Blessed 
are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. 
Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and 
waiteth at the posts of my doors. He that shall find me shall find life, and shall 
have salvation from the Lord." 

The Catholic Church applies these words, used by Solomon in his praise of 
the Divine wisdom, to the Blessed Virgin Mary; for, as God foresaw, according 
to His Omniscience, before all eternity, the fall of man, and, in accordance with 
His mercy, had decreed His salvation through the Licarnation and Death of His 
only-begotten Son ; so, in the same manner, had He chosen from before the crea- 
tion of the w^orld, the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the mother of the Son of God. 

Gospel. — Matthew 1 : 1-16. 
" The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of 
Abraham : Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot 
Judah and his brethern. And Judah be2;ot Phares and Zara of Thamar. And 
Phares begot Esron. And Esron begot Aram. And Aram begot Aminadab. 
And Aminadab begot Naasson. And Naasson begot Salmon. And Salmon begot 
Boaz of Rahab. And Boaz begot Obed of Buth. And Obed he^i^ot Jesse. And 
Jesse begot David the king. And David begot Solomon of her that had b^en 
the wife of Urias. And Solomon begot Roboam. And Roboam begot Abia. 
And Abia begot Asa. And Asa begot Josaphat. And Josaphat begot Joram. 
And Joram begot Ozias. And Ozias begot Joatham. And Joatham begot 
Achaz. And Achaz begot Ezechias. And Ezechias begot Manasses. And 
Manasses begot Amon. And Amon begot Josias. And Josias begot Jechonias 
and his brethren in the transmigration of Babylon, xind after the transmigra- 
tion of Babylon, Jechonias begot Salathiel. And Salathiel begot Zorobabel. 
And Zorobabel begot Abiud. And Abiud begot Eliacim. And Eliacim begot 

VOL. I — 3 



34 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



Azor. And Azor begot Sadoc. And Sadoc begot Achim. And Achim begot 
Eliud. And Eliud begot Eleazar. And Eleazar begot Mathan. And Mathan 
begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born 
Jesus, who is called Christ." 

The Church, in this Gospel of St. Matthew, gives us the genealogy of St. Joseph, 
the foster-father of Jesus Christ, for bj it the descent of the Blessed Virgin 
from David is proved. According to Jewish usage the name of Mar j is omitted 
in the book of generation, but the fact of her being the wife of Joseph is suf- 
ficient to establish her claim, for no Jewish maiden was permitted to marry out- 
side of her tribe. 



FEAST OF ST. THOMAS, TEffi APOSTLE. 

(December, 21st.) 

St. Thomas was born in Galilee, and commonly called Didymus, or the twin. 
He always evinced great love for his Master, especially when Jesus, in order to 
raise Lazarus from the dead, requested His disciples to go with Him into Judea ; 
but they refused to accompany Him, for fear of the Jews, when Thomas, full of 
courage said to them, "Let us also go that we die with him." (John 11: 16.) 
His intense love for Christ is in some measure an excuse for his unbelief after 
the Resurrection, as grief for the death of his Saviour so overwhelmed him, that 
he could not believe in the good tidings, fearing that his sorrow would be only 
increased, if Christ had not truly risen. 

Introit of the Mass. 
"To me thy friends, God, are made exceedingly honorable; and their 
principality is exceedingly strengthened. (Ps. 138.) Lord, thou hast proved 
me, and known me ; thou hast inown my sitting down, and my rising up. 
Glory be to the Father," &c. 

Prater. 
" Grant us, we beseech Thee, Lord, to glory in the solemnity of Thy blessed 
Apostle Thomas, that we may be ever assisted by his patronage, and follow his 
faith with suitable devotion, through Christ." 

Epistle.— Ephes. 2 : 19—22. 

"Brethren: Now you are no more strangers and foreigners ; but you are fel- 
low-citizens with the saints, and the domestics of God. Built upon the foundation 
of the apostles, and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone : in 



ST. THOMAS, THE APOSTLE. 35 

whom all the building, being framed together, groweth up into a holy temple in 
the Lord. In whom you also are built together into a habitation of God in 
the Spirit." 

The Apostle speaks to Christians in the same sense, in which our Saviour 
addressed His disciples for the last time : " I will not now call you servants, but I 
have called you friends." (John 15: 15.) For by conversion to the true faith, and 
being received into the Church of Christ, man, who was before a stranger, becomes 
one of the family of our heavenly Father, and a member of the communion of 
saints. 

Gospel.— John 20 : 19-31. 
" At that time : When it was late that same day, the first of the week, anc 
the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the 
Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them : Peace be to you. 
And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples, 
therefore, were glad when they saw the Lord. He said, therefore, to them again : 
Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said 
this, he breathed upon them, and said to them ; Receive ye the Holy Ghost : 
whose sins ye shall forgive, they are forgiven them ; and whose sins ye shall 
retain, they are retained. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didy- 
mus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples, therefore, said 
to him : We have seen the Lord. But he said to them : Except I shall see in 
his hands the prints of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, 
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again 
his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors 
being shut, and stood in the midst, and said : Peace be with you. Then he 
saith to Thomas : Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands ; and bring hither 
thy hand, and put it into my side : and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas 
answered, and saith to him : My Lord and my God. Jesus saith to him : Be- 
cause thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed : blessed are they that 
have not seen, and have believed. Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight 
of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that 
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing, 
you may have life after his name." 

When the Apostles commenced their labors, St. Thomas was sent among the 
Parthians, in Western Asia, to preach Jesus crucified to them. From there he 
went to Media, Persia, and India, teaching everywhere the truths of Christianity, 
and establishing churches wherever he preached. In the course of his journeys 
he came to Ethiopia, and succeeded in converting many of its inhabitants to 
Christianity. Different opinions exist in regard to the scene of his last labors, 



36 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



and as to the place of his death. It is generally believed, however, that in the 
year 75 A.D., he suffered martyrdom in the city of Calamina, in India, having 
been pierced through by the lance of an idolatrous priest. The Portuguese 
built, in the 16th century, a city near his grave, which they called St. Thomas, 
in honor of him. 



FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN.— FIRST MARTYE. 

(December 26.) 

The Catholic Church celebrates the Festivals of her saints on the day of their 
death, because she justly considers their death, which, in the language of the 
Psalmist, ^' is precious in the sight of the Lord," as the beginning of their 
eternal life in Heaven. Not without reason, then, does the birth-day of St. 
Stephen, in heaven, immediately succeed the birth-day of our Saviour upon 
earth ; for St. Stephen was one of the disciples of Christ, and the first of the 
glorious army of martyrs, and he is venerated as one of the greatest saints of 
the Church. 

Introit of the Mass. 
u Princes sat and spoke against me, and the wicked persecuted me. Help 
me, Lord, my God, for thy servant was employed in thy justifications. 
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. (Ps. 
118.) Glory be to the Father," &c. 

These words of the royal prophet are well adapted to St. Stephen, who 
kept himself undefiled from the world, lived in the faithful observance of God's 
laws, but who was unjustly persecuted by the wicked. 

Prayer. 
" Grant us, we beseech Thee, Lord, to imitate what we honor, that we 
may also learn to love our neighbors, as we celebrate the feast of him who 
knew how to beseech, even for his persecutors, our Lord Jesus Christ, who livest 
and reignest, &c. Amen." 

Epistle.— Acts 6 : 8-10; 7:54-59. 
" In those days, Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and 
signs among the people. Now, there arose some of that which is called the 
synagogue of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, 
and of them that were of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they 
were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit that spoke. Now, hearing 



ST. STEPHEN. 37 



these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed with their teeth at 
him. But he being full of the Holy Ghost, looking up steadfastly to heaven, 
saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And he 
said : Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the 
right hand of God. And they, crying out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, 
and with one accord ran violently upon him. And casting him forth without 
the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the 
feet of a young man, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, who was 
invoking and saying : Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And falling on his knees, 
he cried with a loud voice, saying : Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And 
when he had said this, he fell asleep in the Lord." 

St. Stephen was one of the seven deacons, whose office it was, to assist the 
Apostles in their labors. They were obliged to preach the Gospel, administer to 
the wants of the poor, and had the management of the temporal affairs of the 
Church. Stephen was the first in rank among the deacons ; the Holy Scrip- 
tures call him '^ the man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost ;" and it is said of 
him, that "full of gra^e and fortitude, he did great w^onders and signs among 
the people." Ko greater praise could be bestowed upon the saint. The zeal 
of St. Stephen, in spreading the doctrine of Christ, and the success he met with 
in his labors, excited the Jews against him, especially as they could not, with 
all their cunning, resist the "wisdom and the spirit " with which he spoke, and 
they were covered with confusion. Filled with hatred, they determined to kill 
him. They could, however, find nothing against him ; therefore, like the ene- 
mies of Christ, they accused him of blasphemy. Under this pretence they 
brought him before the council, where, as in the days of Christ, they produced 
false witnesses, wlio said that he never ceased " speaking words against the 
holy places and the laws." After hearing these grievous accusations, all that 
sat in the council looked on him, but even his looks confounded them ; for the 
Holy Scriptures says, " They saw his face, as if it had been the face of an 
angel;" the grace of the Holy Ghost shone in him, and his face was glorious in 
its heavenly beauty. When the High Priest challenged Stephen to defend him- 
self, he successfully vindicated himself from the charge of blasphemy and con- 
tempt of the law. 

He spoke to them of the Patriarchs, and enumerated all the graces which 
the Lord had given to Abraham and to his seed, but he particularly dwelt upon 
the history of Joseph, the son of Jacob, who had been unjustly accused and con- 
demned (a beautiful type of the Saviour). He then spoke to them of Moses, 
and of all the benefits, which the Lord, through him, had bestowed upon the 
Israelites, and how they, full of ingratitude, had forsaken the true worship of 
God, and become idolaters. Finally, he spoke of the temple built by Solomon, 
to w^hich the worship of God should not be confined, as no house, made by 



38 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



hand, can- contain " Him^ ivhose throne is heaven, and wliose footstool is the earth." 
Thus, St. Stephen refuted all the charges brought against him, and even proved 
to the Jewish people, that they had lost all the respect and veneration due 
to God. " You stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you always 
resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do you also." (Acts 7 : 51.) 

This appeal of St. Stephen, so full of convincing truths, should have pene- 
trated the hearts of the false accusers, for their confusion reveals their malice ; 
but, like the wicked, who closing their hearts against the truth, become only 
the more hardened, when their evil deeds are exposed ; so the Jews, not being 
able to speak on account of their fury, "gnashed their teeth at him." But 
when St. Stephen made known to them his heavenly vision, they could no longer 
contain their rage, but casting him without the city, stoned him to death. Ac- 
cording to the testimony of the most reliable historians, St. Stephen suffered 
martyrdom on the 26th of December, in consequence of which, the Church cele- 
brates his feast immediately after Christmas. 

Gospel.— Matt. 23 : 34-39. 

" At t'hat time, Jesus said to the Scribes and Pharisees : Behold I send to you 
prophets, and wise men, and scribes : and some of them you will put to death and 
crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city 
to city. That upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon 
earth from the blood of Abel the just, even unto the blood of Zacharias, the son 
of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. Amen, I say 
to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 
thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often 
would I have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather her chickens 
under her wing, and thou wouldst not. Behold, your house shall be left to you 
desolate. For I say to you, you shall not see me henceforth till you say, Blessed 
is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." 

The same just reproach, which St. Stephen made before the council to the 
Jews, that they had always persecuted, abused and put to death the messengers 
of God, had, according to the Gospel of to-day, been made before by our Saviour 
to this wicked and stubborn race. But He had, at the same time, announced to 
them the terrible punishment they would call down upon themselves, by continu- 
ing in their sins, and that the blood of all the just and holy men, shed by them, 
would be visited upon them and upon their descendants. Yet, when they had 
dragged the Saviour before the tribunal, and in their fury demanded His death, 
they, with one accord, cried out : " His blood be upon us, and upon our chil- 
dren." (Matt. 27: 25.) 

According to the prophecy of the Saviour, their city and temple would also 
be destroyed, and they themselves would be scattered over the earth, and be 



ST. JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST. 39 

rejected by Him. They should not see again their Saviour, whom they had 
despised and treated as a criminal, until He came in judgment, when he would 
appear in His majesty and glory, and when all the nations and races of the earth, 
Jews and Heathens, the faithful and the unfaithful, the good and the wicked, 
would acknowledge Him as their Lord and King, their God and their Judge, 
and, though trembling with fear from the consciousness of guilt, they would be 
compelled to worship and adore Him. 

Those sorrowful and compassionate words of the Saviour : " Jerusalem, 
Jerusalem, =5= * * how often would I have gathered together thy children * * * 
and thou wouldst not " — contain not only a Avarning to the infatuated Jews, who 
w^antonly rejected all proofs of the mercy and love of God, thus making ineffec- 
tual all that Christ had suffered for them, but should serve as a caution to those 
who, by their impenitence, close their hearts against the grace of God. For 
even the Lord cannot save him, who in fatal blindness lets the time of grace 
pass by, thereby refusing to be saved. ^Yh.o should not consider, and take to 
his heart, for the sake of his own salvation, this important truth ? 

St. Chrysostom says, in reference to this subject : " Let us be virtuous, I 
conjure you, in the time that remains to us ; for, as the acknowledgment of the 
Jews came too late, so will be our repentance, if delayed too long. The pilot is 
of no use when the ship is sunk, nor is the physician of any avail, when the 
patient is dead — both must watch and work before the patient dies, and the ship 
is lost; thus preventing death and shipwreck." 



H) 



FESTIVAL OF ST. JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST. 

(December 27.) 

St. John, a son of Zebedee, and of Salome, and a brother of the Apostle 
St. James the Greater, was a native of Galilee, and by occupation a fisherman. 
When John the Baptist appeared, to announce the Advent of the long-expected 
Saviour, he listened to his teachings, and from him obtained a true knowledge 
of Jesus Christ, whose follower he afterwards became. He was the youngest 
of the disciples, but was chosen from among them all, to be the Beloved Disciple 
of Jesus. John possessed a character full of simplicity and mildness, and was 
distinguished for the great love he always exhibited towards his Master. But 
it was especially his purity of heart and his spotless chastity, which he preserved 
inviolate through life, that made him so peculiarly worthy of the Saviour's love 
and distinction. St. Augustin says : " The rare beauty of his chastity made him 
dear to our Lord." 

St. John, as the beloved friend of the Saviour, enjoyed with Peter and his 



40 CIIRISTMAS-UYCLUS. 



brother James, the confidence of his Master. These three disciples yvere the only 
witnesses of His transfiguration on Mount Thabor, and of His sufferings on the 
Mount of Olives. John was always near the Saviour, sat by His side at the Last 
Supper, and was permitted to ask the question as to '' wdio would be the outcast 
among them, who would betray his Lord and Master ;" the great St. Peter fear- 
ing to make the inquiry. But he gave the greatest proof of his love at the foot 
of the cross ; when nearly all of the disciples had fled, for fear of the Jews, and 
wdien even Peter had denied Him, John with the Blessed Virgin Mother re- 
mained with his suifering Saviour, and was consoled by hearing from the lips of 
his expiring Redeemer the words : '' Woman, behold thy son ; Son, behold thy 
Mother ;" and from that hour he received the Holy Mother into his house, and 
cared for her as for his own. 

When, after His resurrection, the Saviour appeared to the disciples near the 
Lake Tiberias, and commanded them to " cast out their nets," John was the first 
to recognize him. It was Peter and John who, after the descent of the Holy 
Ghost, worked the great miracle in the name of Jesus Crucified, by instantly 
curing a lame man, w^ho sat at the entrance of the temple. Fifteen years after the 
Ascension of our Lord, in accordance with his command, the Apostle w^ent forth 
to preach the Gospel to all parts of the earth ; but St. John still remained in 
Jerusalem with the Blessed Virgin, and did not leave until after her Assumption 
into heaven. He was then sent into Asia Minor, and there founded many 
Christian communities. After the death of St. Paul, he had his seat at Ephesus 
as head of the churches in Asia. In other parts of Asia, especially among the 
Parthians, did he also preach the Gospel. He everywhere confirmed the 
elections of the BishojDS, chosen by Ss. Peter and Paul, and appointed Bishops 
over the newly established churches, for which purpose, although advanced in age, 
he undertook long and tiresome journeys. In the second general persecution 
of the Christians, under the Emperor Domitian in the year 95, St. John w^as 
arrested by order of the Governor of Asia, and sent to Rome. There he firmly 
confessed his faith in Jesus Christ, and was thereupon thrown into a kettle filled 
with boiling oil, in a place outside of the city, before the so-called Latin Gate, 
from which, however, wonderfully preserved by God, he came forth uninjured. 
In memory of this event, the Catholic Church yearly celebrates, on the 6th of 
May, a festival, entitled "Festival of St. John before the Latin Gate." 

By order of the emperor, St. John w^as then banished to the desert- 
island of Patmos. The Saint, living in strict retirement, was here favored by 
God, with those wonderful visions, which he has left us in the Apocalypse, where- 
in the future destiny of the church, the last judgment, with all its terrors, and 
the glory of heaven, is described in the most sublime manner. After the death 
of the emperor, in the year 96, St. John returned to Ephesus, and labored with 
renewed zeal for the sanctification of the souls confided to his care. It was 
about this time, that he wrote his Gospel, the greatest of all his writings, because 



ST. JOIIX, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST. 41 

the Apostle in it proves the Divinity of Christ, attacked at that time by many 
heretics. Beside the Revelations and Gospel, St. John wrote three Epistles, in 
which he again treats of the Divinity of Christ, exhorts all to a pure and holy 
life, in order to guard against the snares of the seducer, particularly the heretics, 
and enjoins upon them the great command of love. This holy love, which pene- 
trated the whole being of the great disciple, he impressed upon his people when- 
ever he addressed them, for in this commandment all the others are included, 
and without it, no action of man can find merit in the sight of God. When old 
age prevented him from preaching, and when too weak to walk, he had himself 
carried into the churches of the Faithful, and would constantly repeat the words : 
" My children, love one another." His attendants asked him once, why he always 
used this language ; when he answered," Because this is the command of the Lord, 
and if this is done, all is done." St. Jerome who relates this beautiful feature in 
the life of the great Apostle, adds, " This answer is entirely worthy of the great 
John, the beloved disciple of Christ ; it should be written in golden letters, or 
rather, it should be inscribed on the hearts of the faithful." St. John died in the 
peace of God, at Ephesus, 100 years after the birth of Christ, and in the 94th 
year of his age. Although the only one of the Apostles who did not suffer 
martyrdom, he merited a martyr's crown, for he confessed his faith when 
persecuted, and though miraculously preserved by the Lord from a terrible death, 
he yet " drank from the bitter cup," as the Saviour had prophesied of him, and 
of his brother James. (Mark 10 : 39.) 

Introit of the Mass. 
" In the midst of the Church the Lord opened his mouth, and filled him with 
the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and clothed him with a robe of glory. 
It is good to give praise to the Lord, and to sing to thy name, Most High." 
Ecclus. 15. 

Prayer. 
" Mercifully illustrate Thy Church, Lord, that, enlightened by the doc- 
trines of Thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist, St. John, she may arrive at gifts 
everlasting, through Christ." 

Epistle. — Ecchis. 15: 1-6. 
" He that feareth God will do good : and he that posseseth justice shall lay 
hold on her, and she will receive him as a wife married from a virgin. With 
the bread of life and understanding, she shall feed him, and give him the water 
of wholesome wisdom to drink : and she shall be made strong in him, and he 
shall not be moved : and she shall exalt him among his neighbors, and in the 
midst of the church she shall open his mouth, and shall fill him with the spirit 
of wisdom and understanding, and shall clothe him with a robe of glory, she 



42 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



shall heap upon him a treasure of joy and gladness, and our Lord God shall 
cause him to inherit an everlasting name." 

Gospel.— John 21 : 19-24. 

" At that time : Jesus said to Peter : Follow me. Peter turning about, saw 
that disciple whom JesUs loved following, who also leaned on his breast at sup- 
per, and said : Lord, who is he that shall betray thee ? Him, therefore, when 
Peter had seen, he saith to Jesus : Lord, and what shall this man do ? Jesus 
saith to him : So I will have him to remain till I come, what is it to thee ? fol- 
low thou me. This saying, therefore, went among the brethren, that that disci- 
ple should not die. And Jesus did not say to him : He should not die ; but, so I 
will have him to remain till I come, what is it to thee ? This is that disciple 
who giveth testimony of these things, and hath written these things : and we 
know that his testimony is true.' 



FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 

(December 28.) 

Not less significant than the two proceeding Feasts, is that of the Holy Inno- 
cents ; its celebration is intimately connected with that of the Nativity of our 
Lord. They were the children, who were put to death by the cruel King Herod, 
out of hatred to the Infant Jesus, and who suffered in their infancy the martyr's 
death, for Him, their Lord and Saviour, and who freed from original sin, by being 
baptized in blood, were as pure lambs, offered to the Spotless Lamb of God as 
the firstlings of the flock. 

St. Augustin, says, " It is God who is born ; therefore innocent offerings are 
due to Him. Pure lambs must be offered to Him, since He, the Spotless Lamb, 
is to be offered on the Cross." The Catholic Church, therefore, honors justly 
these innocent children as the first of the Christian martyrs, and greets them to- 
day in the following beautiful words : " Hail ! Holy Children : the persecutor of 
Christ destroyed you in the dawn of life, as the storm breaks the rosebud ; 
sweet and tender blossoms, offered to Christ, you are now singing the praises of 
the Lamb of God, you now carry in your hands the palm, and have won the 
Martyr's Crown." 

iNTiROIT OP THE MaSS 

" Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings thou hast perfected praise, 
because of thy enemies, Lord. Lord, how admirable is thy name in the 

whole earth. Glory be to the Father," &c. (Ps. 8.) 



. • A!-j ' rjtn..r.:. r3e^. 



TilE HOLY INXOCENTS. 43 



These words of the royal prophet were fulfilled at the last entrance of Jesus 
into Jerusalem, when the children greeted him with " Hosanna to the Son of 
David;" and are also applied by the Church to the Holy Innocents, who, by 
their martyrdom, contributed to the glory of the new-born Saviour. 

Prater. 
" God, whose praise the martyred Innocents confessed on this day — not 
by speaking, but by dying — mortify in us all the evils of vices, that our life 
may also confess by actions Thy faith, which our tongue proclaims, through our 
Lord." 

Gospel.— Matt. 2 : 13-18. 
" At that time : An angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying : 
Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt : and be there 
until I shall tell thee ; for it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to 
destroy him. Who arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and 
retired into Egypt ; and he was there until the death of Herod ; that it might 
be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying : Out of Egypt have 
I called my Son. Then Herod, perceiving that he was deluded by the wise 
men, was exceedingly angry; and sending killed all the men-children that were 
in Bethlehem and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, ac- 
cording to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then 
was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet, saying : A voice 
in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning ; Rachel bewailing her 
children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." 

We see in this Gospel, how lovingly Divine Providence watched over the 
Holy Family — how the Heavenly Father saved them from the cruel Herod. 
The Lord, in His Omnipotence, would have been able otherwise to protect his 
only-begotten Son from the impotent rage of the tyrant, but it was necessary 
that the Saviour should sufier persecution in His infancy, in order to encourage 
those, who are innocently persecuted. The resignation to the will of God, 
always shown by the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, was to be proved anew on 
this occasion. St. Chrysostom says: "When Joseph heard the angel's command, 
he was in no wise angry at it, for he was a man full of faith, and did not even 
ask when they should return, which time had not been mentioned by the angel. 
Yet this did not diminish his faith; he obeyed the more readily, and joyfully 
submitted to every hardship." 

It was also of particular significance, that the infant Jesus was carried into 
Egypt. Joseph, the pious son of Jacob, who, in some respects, may be looked 
upon as a type of the Saviour, had also taken refuge there from the persecu- 
tions of his kindred; but, in accordance with the wise dispensation of God, 
afterwards became the benefactor, of not only his own family, but even of 



44 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



nations. Idolatry, with all its attendant vices, had overrun the land, but the 
Saviour, by his gracious presence in this country, laid the foundation for the 
glorious company of holy hermits, that, at a later period, flourished in Egypt. 
The great saints, Eusebius and Jerome, assert, that " by the coming of Jesus 
into Egypt, idols were overturned, and the wicked spirits who, until then, had 
deceived the people, expelled from the land." Isaiah also foretold the fact, 
saying: ''Behold, the Lord will ascend upon a swift cloud, and will enter into 
Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of 
Egypt shall melt in the midst thereof." (Is. 19.) 

The killing of so many innocent children in and around Bethlehem, and the 
miraculous deliverance of the infant Jesus, had been already typified in the Old 
Testament, by the murder of all the newly-born Hebrew, boys in Egypt, by 
command of the wicked Pharaoh, from which fate Moses (one of the most beau- 
tiful prototypes of the Saviour) had been saved by God's wonderful Providence, 
to become afterwards the deliverer of his people. 

The prophecy of Jeremiah, concerning Rachel mourning for her children, is 
to be taken in a figurative sense. Rachel, the wife of the patriarch Jacob, re- 
presents the Jewish kingdom. She bewails her children's fate — then in capti- 
vity — as dead, being lost to the nation ; thus typifying the mourning of the un- 
happy mothers in Bethlehem, whose children were slain by order of Herod, the 
king. 

The death of the Innocents is again, according to the interpretation of St. 
Jerome, a type of the persecutions. Christians in later times would meet with, 
from the hands of Jews and Heathens, they thinking, that by putting to death 
those, who believed in Jesus crucified, the Kingdom of God could be swept from 
the earth. 



SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 



Introit op the Mass. 



"While all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her 
course, thy Almighty word, Lord, came down from heaven, from thy royal 
throne. (Wisdom 18 : 14, 15.) The Lord has reigned ; he is clothed with beauty; 
the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself." (Ps. 92 : 1.^ 

The Church applies very properly the words of Solomon, speaking of the 
judgment of God upon idolaters, to the coming of the Son of God, who, although 
in the form of man, appeared in His glory and might. 



SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 45 

PU.VYEU. 

''Almighty and eternal God, direct our actions so, as to be pleasing to Thee, 
that, in the name of Thy beloved Son, we may deserve to abound in good works. 
Who livest and reignest." 

Epistle. — Gal. 4 : 1-7. 
" Brethren : As long as the heir is a child, he differ eth nothing from a servant, 
though he be lord of all ; but is under tutors and governors until the time 
appointed by the father : so we also, when we were children, were in bondage 
under the elements of the world. But when the fulness of the time was come, 
God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law : that he might redeem 
them who were under the law; that he might receive the adoption of sons. 
And because you are sons, God hath sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, 
crying : Abba, Father. Therefore now he is not a servant, but a son. And if 
a son, an heir also through God." 

The Apostle in this lesson compares mankind before the birth of Christ, to 
a child, who, although heir to its father's possessions, is, until of age, under the 
guardianship of tutors. This tutorship was the Jewish law, with its many pre- 
cepts, to the observance of which the Jews were strictly bound. Christ has, 
however, through His Redemption, freed us from all these laws, such as circum- 
cision, purification, and sacrifice, only obliging the faithful to observe strictly the 
ten commandments in word and deed, thereby exempting us from the precepts of 
the old law, and adopting us as children of God. 

Gospel.— Luke 2: 33-40. 
" At that time : Joseph and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were wondering at 
these things, which were spoken concerning him. And Simeon blessed them, 
and said to Mary his mother : Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the 
resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted. And 
thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that out of many hearts, thoughts may be 
revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the 
tribe of Aser : ske was far advanced in years, and had lived with her husband 
seven years from her virginity. And she was a widow until fourscore and four 
years : who departed not from the temple, by fastings and prayers serving night 
and day. Now she at the same hour coming in, confessed to the Lord, and 
spoke of him to all that looked for the redemption of Israel. And after they had 
performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, 
into their city, Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong, full of wisdom : 
and the grace of God was in him." 

Our attention In this Gospel is directed to the remarkable prophecy of Simeon, 
in which he foretold the reception of our Saviour among men, the opposition 



46 CHRISTMAS-CYCLUS. 



He would meet with, and the sorrow the Blessed Virgin would experience in 
witnessing the sufferings of her Divine Son. Isaiah had prophesied the same of 
the Saviour, saying, "And he shall be a sanctification to you, but for a stone of 
stumbling, and for a work of offence to the two houses of Israel, for a snare and 
a ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And very many of them shall stumble 
and fall, and shall be broken in pieces, and shall be snared, and taken." (Isaiah 
8 : 14, 15.) The history not only of our Saviour, but of the Catholic Church 
down to the present time, show, how accurately these prophecies haye been fulfilled. 
Christians are hereby earnestly admonished to receive the teachings of Christ 
with a faithful heart, observe His commandments, imitate His virtues, and de- 
stroy within themselves everything opposed to Jesus. 



L E a E ]sr D s. 



"ST. ELIGIUS. 

(December 1.) 

"The IMaTrow Patn. 

Although 1,200 years have passed away, since Eligius lived, we still possess 
a complete history of his life, written by his friend St. Audoen. From this bio- 
graphy, however, we will give but a short extract. 

Eligius was born of Christian parents, and, when very young, was appren- 
ticed to an honest goldsmith. He exhibited the innocence of the dove, by his 
pure and upright conduct, and the wisdom of the serpent, by permitting no one 
to deceive him. He devoted his leisure hours, in attending the divine services 
of the church, and while working he would meditate upon the words of God he 
had heard. 

King Clotar II., learning that Eligius was a very skilful workman, charged 
him with the making of a royal chair, and a certain amount of gold and pre- 
cious stones were given to him for the purpose. Some time after, Eligius brought 
the throne to the king, who was astonished at its splendor; he at once or- 
dered the goldsmith to be richly rewarded, but when Eligius brought in a second 
throne equally beautiful, telling him that enough gold and jewels had been left, 
after making the first, sufficient for the construction of another, the king's as- 
tonishment reached its height. He was so impressed by the skill and honesty 
of Eligius, that he commanded apartments to be prepared for him in the palace, 
and soon after appointed him to the office of warden. 

Having now the charge of important matters, the usual oath was demanded 
of him by the king ; but, faithful to the command of the Holy Scriptures to 
"swear not at all," Eligius at first refused; the king persisted in requiring it 
of him, when he burst into tears, as he did not wish to ofi*end the king, and still 
less act against the dictates of his conscience. Upon witnessing his grief, the 



48 LEGENDS. 



king no longer urged him, but said to him, with the greatest kindness, "Your 
refusal to swear deserves as much confidence, as if jou had taken an hundred 
oaths." 

In the midst of the j^leasures of the imperial court, young Eligius never 
neglected the welfare of his soul ; he would go often to confession, and led a very 
holy life. He fortified himself against the sinful indulgence of his passions by 
constantly meditating upon death, judgment, and the eternal punishments of 
hell ; he entreated Almighty God by day and by night, to forgive him his sins ; 
and from the severity of his fasts, his countenance became exceedingly pale and 
thin. A prayer-book was always open before him, so that even, when busy 
working with his hands, he could frequently direct his eyes to the word of God. 
Eligius was very zealous in his efibrts to ransom captives, and when his own 
means did not suffice, he would sell his clothes, to purchase their freedom. 

The door of his dwelling was so beset by the poor, that it resembled the en- 
trance of a bee-hive, and when a stranger would ask, where Eligius lived, he was 
told, "He lives, where many of the poor stand before the house." He would 
himself wait upon the poor, who were fed in his house, and only after they had 
been satisfied, would he eat of what they had left. 

Eligius was a very handsome man, and accommodating himself to the fashion 
of the court, at first dressed splendidly, but always wore next to him a shirt 
made of rough hair. He soon, however, sold his costly garments for the benefit 
of the poor, and was once so thinly clad, that the king sent him some of his 
own clothes ; but these, too, were soon converted into money for the sake of the 
poor. 

Eligius was in no sense a courtier — for, if he was at prayer when sent for by 
the king, the latter would have to wait, until he had finished his devotions. He 
was always obedient to the royal orders, if not in conflict with the commands of 
God, and for this reason he retained the confidence of Clotar's successor, Dago- 
bert ; for the king knew that, when he gave to Eligius, it was equivalent to 
giving to the poor, and in consequence, never refused anything that he would 
ask for. 

Eligius although living in the world, led a truly angCxic life. St. Audeon 
tells us, that he was unceasingly occupied in the exercise of good works. If he 
saw a poor man, he assisted him; if he met a rich one, he would exhort him to 
be charitable. Upon his journeys, he would always visit the churches and con- 
vents in his road, and out of reverence alighted at a distance, in order to ap- 
proach on foot the holy places. He would then collect all the poor in the neigh- 
borhood, and have an excellent meal served" to them, at his expense. He denied 
himself the use of meat and wine, and would always lie upon the floor when he 
slept. 

The great esteem, with which the king treated Eligius, ana which w^as not 
gained by flattery on his part, made him neither presum'ntuous nor selfish ; he 



ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS. 49 



did not hesitate to remonstrate with the king, when ordered to do anything in- 
consistent ^yiih the precepts of Christianity. At one time, a great heretic en- 
tered France, and endeavored to seduce the people from the true faith ; Eligius, 
having been informed of it, consulted with other unwavering Catholics, as to the 
best means for preventing the spreading of thi^ evil. He, in accordance with 
their advice, begged the Bishops to convoke a council, in order to suppress the 
growth of the heresy, and himself traveled about, from one place to another, im- 
ploring the people to remdn steadfast to their faith, and telling them, how to 
guard against the infection. Almighty God blessed his efforts ; for the heretics 
were soon after banished from the country. 

We see in the life of Eligius, a man who, in the midst of his intercourse with 
the world, and amid the cares of office, persevered in leading a godly life. What 
was possible for the goldsmith Eligius, is also possible for every man of business. 
You can not, therefore, excuse yourselves by the circumstances of your life, for 
neglecting your duties as Christians. No matter how various your occupations 
may be, you can still take care of your soul, and grow in godliness, if you only 
employ the right means — prayer, fasting, and alms-giving. By the exercise of 
those virtues, you are protected from the temptations of the devil, and enrich 
yourself with merit. . 

By imitating the conduct of men of the world, we walk in the broad road 
that leads to destruction ; but, by choosing the narrow path, we travel through 
the journey of life — it may be w^eary, and sometimes faint-hearted, yet, if our trust 
is in God, His strong arm will uphold us. It is not always necessary to enter 
a convent in order to reach Heaven, neither is it requisite, to bind ourselves to 
the observance of worldly customs, on the other hand ; but, to obtain the reward 
promised by Christ, we should devote ourselves henceforth to works of self-denial 
and charity. "" 



ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS. 

(December 2.) 

" Our Father in Spirit." 

St. Peter was in his youth instructed and led to the practice of a holy life 
by the Bishop Cornelius of Imola. He says himself in one of his sermans which 
have come to us : " Cornelius was my father, he had begotten me through the 
Gospel ; pious, he has nourished me wdth piety, himself holy, he has held and 
urged me to a holy life." Cornelius ordained his pupil deacon, and charged him 
with the management of the church property, and with the care of the poor. But, 
at the same time, St. Peter shone by his eloquence like a burning lamp in the 
VOL. I i 



50 LEGENDS. 



temple of the Lord. For that reason he received the name of " Chrysolog-us/* 
signifying one whose speech is gold. 

When later, after the death of the Bishop of the celebrated city of Ravenna, 
a new one had been elected, a delegation was sent to Rome to obtain the sanc- 
tion of the Pope. Cornelius and his deacon, in order to transact some ecclesi- 
astical business, had arrived there about the same time. Now Pope Sixtus III. 
had a vision : he saw the Apostle Peter and his pupil, Apollinar, who had 
been the first Bishop of Ravenna. They showed him the figure of a young 
man, indicating, at the same time, that God wished he should become Bishop of 
Ravenna, and not the one who had been elected. 

The next day, when the delegates from Ravenna introduced the Bishop 
elect, and begged the sanction of the Pope, he would not give it, bilt ordered 
them to bring before him all persons who had come with the embassy from Ra- 
venna. Among them, however, he found none who resembled the young man 
he had seen in his vision. Bishop Cornelius — as already mentioned — being at 
that time in Rome, the Pope ordered him also to bring before him his companion. 
Scarcely had his eyes fallen on Peter, the deacon, than he recognized him as 
the one pointed out to him by a higher revelation, and he said joyfully to those 
present : " This one-, through Divine Providence, is designed for Archbishop of 
Ravenna." The delegates of Ravenna, however, took it ill, that a stranger 
should be placed at their head, and Chrysologus himself was so alarmed, at his 
being appointed to such a difiicult and responsible ofiice, that he prayed the 
Holy Father on his knees, to desist from his intention, and to appoint another. 
Partly to encourage St. Chrysologus, partly to appease the delegates of Ravenna, 
the Pope now related to them how he, through Divine manifestation, had been led 
to this choice, whereupon Chrysologus, in order not to oppose the will of God, 
accepted the high office. At Ravenna, where they had learned all that had 
passed in connection with his appointment, he was received with much joy, and 
he told the inhabitants, they should now faithfully follow his exhortations, since 
he had taken upon himself such a heavy burden for their salvation. 

Many things have been recorded regarding the saintly life of St. Chry- 
sologus, and how he performed with apostolic zeal the duties of his episcopal 
office. Yet, instescd of giving here a minute detail of them, I regard it as more 
useful to let him speak to us himself, so that his words may still edify us ; for 
we possess still seventy-six of his sermons, which a later Bishop of Ravenna has 
collected. I will select from them what he has said on the Lord's Prayer. 

Our Father who art in heaven! In praying thus you must not take it as if 
He was not on earth, ag if He who encloses all, was limited to a particular place; 
but you should remember that you are of a heavenly race whose Father dwelleth 
in heaven, and exert yourselves through a holy life to become worthy of a holy 
Father ! He proves himself a child of God, who exhibits divine virtues. 

Hallowed be Thy name ! We are His race, and His name belongs to us, we 



ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS. 51 



pray, therefore, that His name, which is holy in and through itself, may be hallowed 
in us. For the name of God is either honored, or dishonored by our actions. 
The Apostle says therefore; "The name of God is dishonored through you 
among the heathens." 

Tky kingdom come ! When did God not rule ? We pray thus, that He who 
has always ruled for Himself, now may rule in us, to enable us to rule according 
to Him. The Devil, sin, and death have ruled, and mortals were for a long time 
in bondage. We pray, therefore, that through the power of God, the Devil may 
be overcome, sin cea^e, death be destroyed, bondage be enslaved, and that, 
being liberated, we may rule in eternal life ! 

Thy will he donCy as in heaven, so on earth I That is the kingdom of God, 
when on earth as well as in heaven, God's will alone prevails; when in all men 
God breathes, God lives, God works, God rules, God is all — according to the 
word of the Apostle : " Let God be all in you all." 

CHve us to-day our daily bread I He who has given us Himself as Father, 
who has adopted us as children, who has made us His heirs, who has presented 
us with His name. His honor. His kingdom, has taught us Himself to pray for our 
daily bread. In the kingdom of God, in the profusion of heavenly gifts, for 
what does human poverty ask ? Does such a good, kind, liberal Father not 
give bread to His children but when begged for it ? Where is the word : " There- 
fore take no thought, saying. What shall we eat ? or. What shall we drink ? or, 
Wherewithall shall we be clothed ?" Does He bid us pray for what He forbids us 
to think of ? As heavenly Father He invites us to ask as heavenly children 
heavenly bread ; He said Himself : " I am the bread which has come down from 
heaven !" He is namely, the bread sowed in a Virgin, leavened in flesh, kneaded 
in sufferings, baked in the oven of the tomb, preserved in the churches, offered 
upon the altars, and daily presented to the faithful as heavenly food. 

And forgive us our trespasses as ive forgive those who trespass against us! 
If you cannot be without sin, and if you wish entire forgiveness at all times, 
then forgive ye also always. As much as you desire to be forgiven so much for- 
give ye. As many times as you would be forgiven, so many times forgive ye. 
Finally, since you desh-e that all shall be forgiven you, then forgive you also all. 
Remember, man ! in thine own heart is the source of forgiveness— if forgive- 
ness flows out, it flows also back into thee ! 

And lead us not into temptation ! On earth, life itself is a temptation. " The 
life of man," says Job, "is a temptation." Let us pray, therefore, that He shall 
not leave us to our own judgment, but keep us in all our doings with fatherly love, 
and mark out for us our course. 

But deliver us from evil I From what evil ? From the Devil, who is the 
source of all evil. The Devil was originally a good spirit, now he is a wicked spirit, 
older than the world, sly and practised in deceit. Therefore, he is not only 
called evil, but the Evil from whom comes all that is evil. We must pray 



52 LEGENDS. 



God, therefore, that He shall deliver us from the Devil, through the conqueror 
Christ. 

He whom you shall invoke, has Himself pointed out to you, in a few words, the 
subject of your supplication, the measure of your prayer, to learn therefrom 
what and how to pray. The heavenly King wished also to dictate to you 
Himself, the petitions He intends to grant. Where God hears His own 
words in the prayer, there we must have entire confidence that we shall be heard." 

St. Chrysologus had performed the duties of his episcopal office for eighteen 
years, when he forsaw his speedy death. But he wished to commit his soul into 
the hands of the Lord at the place where he had first seen the light of the world, 
and he betook himself, therefore, to Imola. His townsmen, and their Bishop, who 
felt honored and happy on account of his presence, received the holy man with 
great joy. The next day he went to the church of the Martyr Kassian, ofi*ered 
the sacrifice of the Holy Mass, and prayed God to grant him the assistance of 
St. Kassian as patron in the hour of death. He begged also the Bishop and the 
community to bury him on the side of the altar of St. Kassian. Thereupon he 
prayed in a loud voice : "I implore thee, blessed Martyr Kassian, pray for 
me; I have been a member of thy house, nourished in this temple by Cor- 
nelius, the Bishop of this Diocese. Again returned to thee, I commit now 
my soul to Almighty God, but to thee I recommend my body !" After he had 
thus prayed he gave the people the episcopal benediction and died in the Lord 
full of quiet and peace at the side of the altar, about the hour of mid-day. 

St. Chrysologus died in the year 450, St Leo being Pope, and when, in 1497, 
the Bishop and Clergy of Imola opened his grave, they found his body in a 
state of perfect preservation. 



ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. 

(December 2.) 

"Means of conversion." 

St. Francis Xavier was a native of Spain, and was one of the first mem- 
bers of the " Society of Jesus," founded by St. Ignatius Loyola. 

At that time, the Portuguese had conquered a great part of India, which 
they had garrisoned, and from which they collected large revenues. But almost 
all of the inhabitants were still heathens, and the King of Portugal, wishing to 
propagate the Christian religion in his distant possessions, applied to the Pope 
for priests best qualified for that purpose. 

Thus it happened that St. Francis Xavier, with several other Jesuits, was 
sent to that remote country to teach the truths of Christianity to an ignoi^ant 
and idolatrous people. 



ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. 63 



The voyage lasted for months, St. Francis spending his time in endeavoring 
to gain souls for Heaven. He was kind and affable to all ; he would converse 
with the sailor about navigation, with the soldier about war, and with the 
merchant about commerce ; he would even associate with those around a card- 
table, and seem interested in their losses and gains. He did all this, so that 
none among the passengers would absent themselves, when he preached ; by his 
gentleness he soon w^on all hearts, and true piety, as a natural consequence, 
began to prevail on board. 

Among the passengers was a Portuguese nobleman, who would even boast 
of his infidelity, and for that very reason, St. Francis sought his acquaintance, 
and gained his friendship by his pleasing address. But whenever St. Francis 
would speak to him of God, or of matters concerning the salvation of his soul, 
he would answer him only with abuse ; this however did not discourage the holy 
priest, although the nobleman would often revile religion, and swear that nothing 
would ever force him to make his confession. Once when the ship made a 
landing, St. Francis and the infidel went on shore, and in their rambles came 
to a thick grove of trees. Suddenly Xavier drew from under his habit a scourge, 
made of sharp thorns, and baring his shoulders, commenced to strike himself 
with it, until the blood streamed from him. He said to his companion, '* This I 
do for thy sake, would that I could do more. But all that I undergo is as noth- 
ing, compared with what Christ suffered for thee ; think for a moment of His 
cruel death upon the cross, and of His precious blood flowing from His wounds, 
and let the thought soften thy heart;" then gazing upward, he continued: 
" Remember, Christ, all that Thou ha^t done for us, and have pity on us." 
The noblemjgi was astonished and overcome by what he saw, and kneeling humbly 
at the feet of Xavier, besought him to hear his confession, promising to change 
his life. He kept his word, and became a good Christian. 

The city of Goa, in India, had a Portuguese Viceroy, a Bishop, and many 
Christians among its inhabitants, but the corruption was so great not only among 
heathens, but among Christians, that very few practised the duties of their holy 
religion. In order to prepare himself for the work of conversion, St. Francis 
spent some time in the hospitals, nursing the sick. Then he went daily through 
the streets of the city, exhorting the heads of families to send, for the sake of 
God, their children and slaves to him for instruction in Christian doctrine. 
The children collected in crowds around him, some from curiosity, but many 
because they were sent by their parents who regarded the holy priest with great 
veneration. Owing to his instruction, these children became so changed, that 
their piety and virtue was like a silent reproach to their parents. They would 
frequently express themselves, with modest frankness, in regard to the wicked 
life, led by those older than themselves, and often made the most hardened 
blush at their reproofs. Soon after St. Francis began to preach publicly, and 



54 LEGENDS. 



with such success, that the city became as noted for its piety as it had been 
for its wickedness. 

In other towns, also, the children manifested such a desire for instruction 
in the Christian religion, that they would seek the presence of the holy missionary 
at all hours. These young converts were afterwards of great assistance to 
Xavier in his labors. 

In the city of Malacca not only the heathens, but even the Portuguese were 
sunk in vice. St. Francis Xavier commenced his work of conversion, by going 
through the streets in the evening, and ringing a little bell, exclaiming in a loud 
voice, " Pray for all in the state of mortal sin." There also he won the hearts of 
the people, by his charity and humility, so that many of the inhabitants reformed 
their lives, and were reconciled to God. He commanded the other missionaries 
to gain the confidence of the people by always being ready to serve them, when 
applied to, for assistance, thereby enabling them to enlarge the kingdom of God 
upon earth. 

The Island of More was inhabited by cannibals, who were said to surpass in 
cruelty all other barbarians, and although many sought to dissuade St. Francis 
from going there, he went, full of confidence in the power of God. Besides the 
spiritual means he used to convert these savages, he would direct their attention 
to the volcanos, and speak to them about the earthquakes, with which the island 
was visited, dwelling upon the Omnipotence of God, and of the certainty of Hell 
being their portion, if they did not accept the truths of the Gospel. His efforts 
were so blessed, that after a stay of three months among them, most of the 
inhabitants were converted to Christianity, and from being like wolves and 
tigers in their nature, became like lambs, so gentle and submissive were they to 
the teachings of the saint. * In the instructions he left to those, who were en- 
gaged with him in the work of the missions, was, first to listen patiently to the 
most wicked sinner^ and to assure them, if sincerily repentant, of God's mercy. 
Secondly — if any one applied to them, who had not been to confession for 
years, to admonish the applicant, to examine his conscience carefully — to mark 
down his sins — and to make restitution. He exhorted the missionaries, further- 
more, to exhibit a cheerful demeanor, and to mitigate the severity of their re^ 
proofs, by expressions of love and charity, and to manifest in their lives, the holy 
principles by which they were actuated. He told them to accept invitations, 
if they thought that by their presence any good could be effected, and never to 
hurt the feelings of any poor person, who would offer them a trifling gift, by 
refusing to receive it. 

St. Francis never avoided the company of notorious sinners^ but would feign 
to know nothing of their wickedness, and would sometimes seek the society of 
dissolute and rough soldiers. When they saw him approaching, they would 
attempt to hide from him their dice and cards, but Xavier told them, that as 



ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. 55 



they were not clergymen, they might continue to play, if they did not cheat, 
quarrel or blaspheme. 

To win the confidence of a certain person, he even condescended to play 
with him a game of chess, and a nobleman, who saw him thus engaged, would 
not believe that the man before him was the great missionary, of whom he had 
heard so much. But he left no means untried, to accomplish the work of saving 
the souls of men, and when asked by the merchants, to bless their vessels, he 
would direct their thoughts to the necessity of being mindful also of the 
welfare of their souls, and would often tell them to meditate upon that pas- 
sage in the Holy Scriptures: "What does it profit a man to gain the whole 
world, if he lose his soul." 

He would never despair of even the most obstinate sinners, but always 
evinced his readiness to assist them in reforming their lives. Those who had 
been but recently converted to the fai^, he treated with the kindness of a father, 
showing the greatest patience, when sometimes insulted by them ; for he knew 
that it was not possible for those, who had grown old in sin, to attain sudden 
perfection. 

There are some very pious persons who think it necessary to show their 
abhorrence of sin, by being harsh in their manners when in the society of sin- 
ners ; this, however, is not following the example given us by Christ, who would' 
even eat at the table with sinners, and who said that " He came to seek that 
which was lost." But the spirit of Christ animated St. Francis Xavier, who 
full of compassion, would even go in search of sinners, and by his gentleness 
and charity, would gain their respect and love, so that after a while they would 
willingly listen to his admonitions. 

Do you likewise ; perhaps, with the help of God, you may succeed in convert- 
ing some sinner from the error of his ways ; always show yourself anxious to 
assist with good counsel those who seem disposed to amend their lives. But to 
soften the hardness of a sinner's heart, great kindness must be used ; remember 
what St. Francis of Sales says: "With a drop of honey, you can catch more 
flies, than with a cask of vinegar." 

After having converted not less than a million of the inhabitants of India, 
St. Francis Xavier determined to visit the great empire of China, to teach the 
Chinese the truths of Christianity. But the faithful servant of God had reached 
the end of his labors; he died in great poverty, upon the Island of Sancian, 
having spent a life devoted to the greater Honor and Glory op God. 



56 LEGENDS. 



ST. BARBARA. 

(December 4.) 

" Serving God in the world." 

It is customary to invoke St. Barbara, when visited by storms of thunder 
and lightning, and when in danger of fire, and it is a well-established fact, that 
those, who have asked for her prayers at the hour of death, have never died 
without the Sacraments. Very little is known of her, except that she was re- 
markably beautiful, and that, after her conversion to Christianity, she refused to 
marry a Pagan at the command of her father. She was in consequence accused 
by him of being a Christian; at that time the penalty was death ; but she resisted 
every inducement held out to her, if she would only renounce her faith, and died 
the death of a martyr. 

About seventy years ago, another Barbara was canonized by the Church, 
of whom much has been written. Her life will be very instructive to those who 
are obliged to live in the world, and yet are anxious for the salvation of their 
souls. 

Barbara of Avrillot in her youth desired to become a nun, but, in obedience 
to her mother's wish, married the only son of a very wealthy and noble family. 
She lived in the greatest harmony with her husband and his relations, and was 
kind and obliging to every one about her. Before her marriage, she had always 
dressed with the greatest simplicity although urged to do otherwise by her 
mother, who was devoted to fashion; but, when her husband insisted upon her 
dressing as richly as other ladies of rank,' then did she obey at once, like a 
faithful wife, but she took care to keep her heart free from pride, and would 
never even look at the magnificent garments purchased for her use. Her wait- 
ing-maid was a very devout and holy woman, and encouraged the growth of such 
sentiments in her mistress, and as both aspired after perfection, a portion of 
every evening was devoted to some religious exercise. 

That passage in the writings of St. Augustin, in which he says, '' He whom 
God does not satisfy, is insatiable," had in her youth made a deep impression 
upon Barbara, and her entire reliance upon Him, "who doeth all things well," 
was shown in more than one instance. Her husband was banished from Paris, 
and his property seized by his creditors ; the officers made their appearance just 
as Barbara and her six children had seated themselves at dinner ; they were 
ordered to rise at once, and the very table before their eyes, the dishes, chairs, 
and everything in the house carried off. But, instead of murmuring at her trials, 
she said to a friend, who came to condole with her, that "They were happy days; 
for God was alw^ays with us in our troubles." 

Barbara would willingly have renounced any claim she had upon her husband's 
estates — ^but, for the sake of her' children, she was determined to make an appeal 



ST. BARBARA. 57 



to the courts for redress. She was, in consequence, obliged to see lawyers, and 
others in authority, and, as is often the case, this once wealthy and still noble 
lady was called upon to endure every kind of insult at the hands of those, 
who had formerly been her inferiors in society. She was sometimes kept waiting at 
the door for hours, and was once even rudely pushed out of the way by a servant ; 
but all this did not deter her from carrying on the law-suit, and every humiliation, 
she was obliged to suffer, she would offer to God as a slight atonement for her 
sins, and would even thank Him, for deeming her worthy of suffering. 

Her first care in educating her children, was to train them up for God. She 
would often say to them : "I love you only, when you love and serve God ;" 
and whenever she discovered any fault in them, she would reprove them in a 
firm, but gentle manner, telling them, how detestable sin was in the sight of 
God. She was particular, never to leave her children except with trustworthy 
persons, and always insisted upon their addressing the servants politely. Finding 
that her eldest daughter was inclined to be very haughty, to mortify her pride, 
she would make her sweep the steps. - She never indulged the children in 
luxuries at the table, and always dressed them very plainly ; they -were obliged 
to follow strictly a rule for rising, praying, working, and recreation. She 
demanded at all times instant obedience from them, which they willingly yielded 
to a mother, whom they loved and respected. 

She sent her servants every morning to mass, telling them that it was their 
duty to serve first their Heavenly Master ; every month she sent them to con- 
fession, and would herself preside at their evening devotions, reading to them 
some beautiful legend, inculcating upon them their duties as Christians, and the 
necessity for leading a holy and virtuous life. 

Servants, who indulged in cursing, or in giving way to passion, were first 
gently remonstrated with, and if that did not avail, dismissed from her service. 
Her house, owing to the holy example she gave, resembled a convent more than 
a private household, and many, who had been in her service, afterwards entered 
some religious order. She was more like a mother than a mistress, when any of 
her servants were sick : for once, when one of them was attacked with some con- 
tagious disease, she had him removed to a distant part of the house, and with 
her own hands nursed him, doing for him the most menial offices, sitting up 
whole nights with him, although the room was sometimes so offensive from the 
nature of the disease, that the poor man would almost die with shame, to see his 
mistress undergoing so much for him. 

Her charity was unbounded ; the poor were always to be found in her house 
in such numbers, that she was called by many the '' Mother of the poor." She 
denied herself every luxury in order to give more to them ; she had great com- 
passion for those of the poor, who had neglected their religious duties, and would 
use every effort to bring them back to the practice of their holy religion. Her 
reputation was so well established in Paris for charity, that she would be sent 



58 LEGENDS. 



for in the night by the poorest, who were sick, and would watch and pray with 
them ; like a mother, she prepared their medicines, and would always bring them 
any delicacy they would ask for ; when her own means were not sufficient, she 
would, in the name of God, ask money from her wealthy friends. Once, being 
very ill, a lady of high rank offered her services, to sit up with her at night ; 
but Barbara told her, that it would be a real act of charity, if she would go and 
watch with a poor man, living near her, and who had no one to nurse him. 

All good works should be performed from the love of God alone. Unless 
love for God is the motive that actuates us, all that we do has no value in His sight. 
Barbara's whole being was filled with this holy love ; sometimes walking in her 
garden, she would pluck a little flow^er, and say to her children: "Even this 
little bud shows the greatness of God, and His love for us;" she seized every 
occasion to impress upon their minds the power of God, and the obligations they 
were under to Him, for all that they enjoyed upon earth. She would never 
allow the most violent pain,to deter her from any thing that she had undertaken 
for the greater honor and glory of God, and for the good of the poor. In con- 
versation she was very prudent ; sometimes, when speaking with the most dis- 
tinguished persons, she would stop abruptly, saying to them : "I did not com- 
mence this conversation for the sake of God, and now I will finish it, out of \(Me 
for God," — fearing that by any word of hers she might offend Him. By nature 
she was inclined to be very irritable, but she suppressed every emotion of anger, 
never even speaking harshly, but acting always with the greatest mildness and 
humility, even towards persons who were most disagreeable in their manners to 
her. After the death of her husband, Barbara determined to enter upon a 
religious life, and for this purpose became a lay sister in the Carmelite Order, 
in a convent she had established, and in which her daughter was Superior. It is 
God's will, that Christians, in every condition of life, should be saved, this we 
see plainly in the life of the pious and excellent Barbara. A beautiful maiden, she 
became the wife of a distinguished nobleman, and the mother of a large family, 
and lived with great splendor in one of the gayest cities of Europe ; but, after 
the exile of her tusband from France, she was reduced to poverty, and often 
insulted, whilst endeavoring to re-instate her children in their rights. After suc- 
cessfully acconiplishing her object, iand her husband being dead, of her own free 
will, and in jieepingwith. the j^rfe^ mortification of her whole life, she became 
an humble servaj^t Ai^ a^ conyeiM; bnilt by her charity. Like a healthy plant, 
indifferent alike to- sunshine ibr storm, Barbara's misfortunes had no other effect 
upon her, than to draw her laearer.to heaven. 



BLESSED ELIZABETH. 59 



BLESSED ELIZABETH OF THE INFANT JESUS. 

* (December 5.) 

" G-rowtb. in holiness." 

When very young, Elizabeth expressed a wish to enter a convent, but her 
parents, being persons of high rank, would not permit her to do so, and, in order 
to change her resolution, her father traveled with her from one country to an- 
other ; but, in one of their journeys, she fell dangerously ill, and fearing that she 
might die, he promised that if she recovered, he would give her to God, and at 
once she became better. 

Elizabeth was fifteen, when she joined the order of St. Dominick, and, as she 
voluntarily renounced all worldly pleasures and an exalted position, she was 
found worthy of receiving extraordinary graces from Heaven. 

" I will speak as seldom as I can ; but when it is really necessary I will raise 
my mind to God, that He may inspire me to say what is agreeable to Him." 
This was one of her rules; and again she says : "When I am distracted and 
can not collect my thoughts, I imagine that I hear the Infant Jesus saying to 
me : ' Why dost thou leave me thy light and life ? what have I done to thee ? 
Come to me, thou wilt find more than thou didst hope for ; when thou art weary, 
I will give thee rest ; when hungry, feed thee ; when cold, shelter thee from the 
storm; when sad, fill thee with joy; when weak and trembling, support thee, 
and, when grieving for thy sins, I will pardon thee.' " 

Elizabeth fell into a kind of stupor, and to rouse her from it, the most vio- 
lent remedies were required. According to her own confession, she would have 
lost her patience a thousand times, if God had not come to her assistance, and 
thus enabled her to bear all without complaining. Her tongue became black 
from fever, and yet she never even asked for a drop of water, and, although con- 
stantly sufiering, it was almost impossible to ascertain the nature of her illness, 
as she never murmured. But, after a while, her torments became very great, and 
she was once heard to say: "Dear Lord, I am overwhelmed with affliction and 
sadness, all joy has left me." 

Elizabeth never defended herself when unjustly accused ; conscious of the 
purity of her intention, she left all to God. But it was the will of God, that her 
life should be one of suffering ; for a long time she had experienced the most 
intense pain in one of her eyes. Speaking of herself at this time, she says : 
" When I wake from my sleep, I look upon my pains as so many messengers of 
Divine justice, punishing me for the sins I have committed, by using my eyes 
improperly." At length it was necessary to perform an operation upon the eye. 
She received the surgeon with perfect composure, not even asking him if it 
would be painful, anxious only to submit perfectly to the will of God; she sat 
quietly in the chair placed for her by the surgeon, and, during the tedious and 



60 LEGENDS. 



agonizing operation, not even a sigh escaped her lips, although her countenance 
was distorted from pain, and the blood streamed down her face. The physicians 
were amazed at her fortitude, and after the operation, one of them handed the 
eye that had been taken out, to an attendant, saying : " See, there is the eye of 
a perfect saint." When it became necessary to remove th3 ba^ndages from the 
eye, it was found that blood had collected in the socket, and the surgeon was 
obliged to remove it with his nails, causing her more pain than the taking out 
of the eye itself. She could not forbear groaning, and begged the doctor to give 
her a few moments, in which she could strengthen her soul in prayer, in order 
to submit with more perfect resignation. Elizabeth knew that the power which 
enabled her to bear pains, that were almost insupportable, came from God alone ; 
she says: "I felt then, how little good or evil creatures can do us, that I had 
nothing to fear, but to be separated from God, and that no help could reach me 
but from His hands; that with time, all trials would end, and then would follow 
a happy eternity in Heaven." 

Her life was like the sun, increasing in splendor, until it reaches its full meri- 
dian; she died in her 64th year, and although always delicate and feeble, per- 
severed, to the last hour of her life, in denying herself, that she might offer more 
to God. 



ST. NICHOLAS. 

(December 6.) 

"Timely Cliarity." 

St. Nicholas was born in the city of Patara. His parents, who were very 
wealthy, were humble and virtuous in their lives, and served God with their 
whole heart. They rejoiced so much at the birth of Nicholas, that they dedi- 
cated him at once to God. His mother trained him up faithfully in the practice 
of his religious duties, and, at a proper age, he was sent to school, where, by the 
grace of God, he made great progress in his studies. In his childhood, he would 
fast and pray, never caring to read any books but those treating upon religious 
subjects. After the death of his parents, his whole desire was to devote his 
great wealth to the service of the poor, all for the honor and glory of God. 
Hearing that there was a poor man in the city, who, in despair of bettering his 
condition, intended permitting his daughters to lead a sinful life, he at once took 
means to prevent it, before it was too late; he found the house, and in the man's 
absence placed a sum of gold upon the table in his room. When the father 
returned home, and found the money, he fell upon his knees, and thanked God, 
and at once gave his eldest daughter in marriage. The following night he threw 
another piece of gold in through the window, and the poor man, finding it in the 



ST. NICHOLAS. 61 



morning, cried out : "0 Lord, who is it that thus benefits me ?" and then allowed 
his second daughter to marry. He determined to watch and see who it was, so 
that, when Nicholas came the third night, and threw the gold in, the man rushed 
out, and followed him, in order to thank him for what he had done ; he begged to 
know the name of his benefactor, that he might pray for him. Nicholas told him, 
but ordered him to speak of it to no one. Soon after this occurrence, the 
Bishop of Mira died, and the people were anxious to obtain another true and 
faithful shepherd. "Let us earnestly pray to God for that purpose," said a 
wise man among them. They did so, and that night they heard a voice, saying : 
" He, whom you will find in the morning standing at the church-door, will be 
your Bishop, and his name is Nicholas." The next morning they found 
Nicholas, as was his custom, standing at the entrance of the church, pray- 
ing ; they carried him into the church, placed the mitre upon his head, and 
the crosier in his hand, and made him their Bishop. Although these honors 
were unsought by Nicholas, he performed the duties of his holy office 
with the most scrupulous fidelity. 

When St. Nicholas, by his timely charity, enabled the poor man to marry 
his daughters, he not only relieved a family in distress, but prevented the 
commission of mortal sin. Every Christian can do the same, by endeavoring 
to make peace between those who quarrel, by enabling those who have been 
unfortunate, in procuring an honest livelihood, in order to prevent them from 
relapsing into crime, and by giving good advice to those, who are in danger of 
falling into sin. 

During a great storm at s.ea, the passengers called upon Nicholas to inter- 
cede for them, saying : " Nicholas, we have heard, that God listens to thy 
prayers — beg of Him, to assist us in this, our time of need ;" and a man, resem- 
bling St. Nicholas, appeared on deck, saying : " Here I am." And at once the 
fury of the storm abated. The passengers were filled with awe, and fell upon 
their knees, and thanked God for their miraculous deliverance. When the ship 
reached the city of Mira, some of them went to the church, and saw there the 
holy Bishop, and at once recognized him as the one whom they had seen at sea. 
They thanked him for his prayers, but he said : "It was not I, but the good and 
merciful God, who saved you." Even during his life, his prayers were heard in 
Heaven, for many, by invoking his name, were saved, when unjustly condemned 
to death. 

A^Tien dying, an angel appeared to him, to comfort and console him in his 
agony ; and, after receiving the Holy Sacraments, his pure spirit ascended into 
Heaven, there to obtain the reward, promised to those who persevere to the end 
in serving God faithfully. 

After his death, his body emitted a sweet odor, and, by the grace of God, 
it retained every appearance of life. A splendid tomb was prepared for him, and 
there he was laid by the hands of those, whom he had loved and served so well. 



6^ 



LEGENDS. 



Through his intercession, and by the power of God, many miracles were 
wrought after his death. A poor man once wanted to borrow some money from 
a Jew ; he told him that he could give no security, but that he would swear by 
St. Nicholas to repay him ; he thereupon received the money. After a time, 
finding that the Christian was fully able to pay him, the Jew demanded his mon- 
ey, but the wicked man said: "Have you forgotten that I have already paid 
you?" The Jew was overcome with astonishment, and told him, that what he 
said was not true, and that he would mak'e him swear that he had told a lie. 
The man then had a hollow cane made, which he filled with gold, and when 
called upon to swear, asked the Jew to hold the cane until he had taken the 
oath. This he did, in order that he might stifle his conscience, by saying to him- 
self, that he had given the Jew his gold. The poor man returned the cane to 
the Christian, after he had perjured himself, and went home with a sad heart, 
saying : "0 Nicholas, why did I put my trust in thee ; this man swore by thee, 
nevertheless I have lost all." On his way home, the Christian laid down by the 
road-side to rest, and falling asleep, a w\agon passed over him in the night, and 
killed him instantly. His cane was found by his side, and the deceit he had 
practised upon an honest man was .discovered.* Of course, a great crowd as- 
sembled, and among them the Jew; the people, with one accord, cried out : " Ta^ke 
the gold, for it is yours." This circumstance made such an impression upon 
the Jew, that he said in a loud voice, that if St. Nicholas, by his prayers, could 
bring to life the dead man, he would be at once baptized and become a Chris- 
tian ; and at once the dead man arose, the Jew was baptized upon the spot, and 
from that time served God with the greatest zeal. 



ST. AMBROSE. 

(December 7.) 



"Sin of rashness " 

There never was a Bishop, who showed greater reluctance in accepting his 
office, than did St. Ambrose, but none who ever fulfilled its duties with more 
scrupulous fidelity. He was the Governor of Milan, when the city was divided 
into two religious parties, the Catholic and the Avian ; but was so beloved, that 
both parties wished him to be their Bishop, although an Arian, had been pre- 
viously Archbishop. After his consecration, Ambrose gave all his gold and silver 
to the poor, but to the church he gave his real estate. Upon the settlement of 
these personal matters, he devoted his whole attention to the management of 
his Diocese. 

He was very austere in his manner of living. Saturday and Sunday exeepted, 



ST. AMBROSE. 6^ 



he eat nothing through the day, taking only a slight refreshment in the even- 
ing. He always declined any invitation to d'nner, and recommended his clergy 
to do the same. He thus proved himself to be a true servant of God. to whom 
the pleasures of the world were as nothing. 

Through the indefatigable eiforts of St. Ambrose, the Arian heresy gradu- 
ally died out in Milan, and the whole city became again re-united in the One, 
Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith. 

• About this time, the pious Emperor Gratian was assassinated in the city of 
Lyons, and his successor, Valentine, being yet a minor, his mother Justina 
ruled in his name. She, with her entire court, still adhered to the Arian heresy, 
and upon arriving in Milan, used every effort in her power, to remove Ambrose 
from his See. This was, however, a very difficult task, as the people were greatly 
attached to their holy Bishop. To effect her purpose, she ordered Euthimius, 
one of her attendants, to hire a house near the church, and to keep a carriage 
always in readiness, so that upon the first favorable opportunity, Ambrose might 
be seized, and carried off secretly. But it so happened, that Euthimius com- 
mitted some offence, and was sent to prison, in the very carriage, that had been 
designed for the Archbishop, who now came to comfort and console his enemy, 
when in captivity. 

Shortly after the young Emperor Valentine ascended the throne, ana, insti- 
gated by his mother Justina, who had great influence over him, he ordered 
Ambrose to leave the city; but the Saint refused, saying, "That as a Bishop he 
was not permitted to leave his flock, and that, in matters of religion, he would 
not obey an earthly master." He then entered his Cathedral, where many of 
the faithful had assembled to protect their pastor. A body of troops were sent 
to surround the church, allowing no one to leave the building. Whilst this 
continued, St. Ambrose told the people to sing the praises of God, the soldiers 
outside, sometimes joining with them ; he would preach to them also, telling them 
how, as Christians, they should behave under the circumstances. He said : " If 
the Emperor demands taxes, we will pay them, if he desires to possess our prop- 
erty, let him taks it. I am willing to sacrifice my life — but I will not endan- 
ger the rights of the Church. The Emperor belongs to the Church, and not the. 
Church to the Emperor. I will not leave the city, if they drag me by forceffi)p.>,; 
the church, they will take my body, but not my soul." > -S^/'^- 

Soon after this occurrence, Maximus, with a great force, entered Italy," s^4 r 
conquered it. Valentine was obliged to leave, and took refuge in the domin- 
ions of the Emperor Theodosius, who at once restor^id Valentine to his throne, 
after vanquishing Maximus in battle. While Theodosius was in Milan, a riot 
took place in Thessalonica, the capital of his empire, and several of his princi- 
pal officers were cruelly murdeted, and their dead bodies afterwards dragged 
through th^ streets. The emperor, who was very passionate, was persuaded by 
a wicked counsellor into the commission of a great crime. The inhabitants of 






64 LEGENDS. 



Thessalonica were invited by his orders to witness a spectacle, when they were 
suddenly attacked by soldiers with drawn swords, and seven thousand of them 
slaughtered, within the space of three hours. After giving the order, Theodo- 
sius was filled with sorrow for what he had done, and sent a messenger to coun- 
termand it, but he arrived too late. When the frightful news reached Milan, 
Ambrose wrote at once tp the emperor, calling upon him to do public penance 
for his sin; and when Theodosius, notwithstanding, came to the church, the 
Archbishop met him at the door, and said to him : " It seems, emperor, that 
you do not even yet realize the enormity of your crime ; your elevated position, 
perhaps, prevents you from acknowledging your sins, but look upon the earth 
from which you came, and to which you will return, and let not the imperial 
purple with its splendor blind your eyes. There is one who is Lord and King 
of all: th^e Creator of the world; will you presume to enter His holy temple? 
will you dare to raise your hands in supplication to Him, when they are yet 
stained with blood? Will you open your mouth to receive His precious body, 
when^ in the fury of passion, you have shed so much innocent blood? Depart, 
and heap not crime upon crime, but submit to the sentence of excommunication." 

The emperor desired to exculpate himself, and cited David as an example, 
saying, that he too had been guilty of great sins, but the Archbishop only said 
in reply, "You have imitated the sinner, imitate also the penitent." 

Theodosius returned to his palace, bathed in tears, and performed his pen- 
ance publicly, as had been commanded. Eight months passed, and he was still 
excluded from the sacraments ; his sorrow was very great in not being permitted 
to receive them upon Christmas. One of his courtiers inter ceeded in his behalf, but 
the Bishop was firm, when, however, the emperor came in person, and begged 
for admittance, Ambrose allowed him to sit among the public penitents, at the 
entrance of the church. The emperor, as soon as he came into the cathedral, 
cast himself upon his knees, beating his breast, and crying aloud, in the words of 
David: " My soul cleaveth unto the dust; receive me, Lord, according to 
Thy mercy." The people were so touched at the sight of his sorrow, that they 
wept with him, and prayed God to pardon their emperor. 

St. Ambrose was not even yet satisfied, and before absolving him, compelled 
the emperor to sign an act, by which no sentence of death could be executed 
until thirty days had passed, when it would be again brought to the emperor 
for his approval. Theodosius willingly signed this humane regulation, thereby 
guarding himself from again committing the sin of rashness. 

This severity of Ambrose towards the emperor, to whom he was tenderly 
attached, proceeded solely from his determination to uphold the law of God. 
Theodosius died soon after in the arms of the Archbishop, who preached his 
funeral sermon, in which he praised the piety, humility and virtue of the 
deceased emperor, and declared his conviction, that Almighty God had already 
received him into Heaven. 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAE 

y the compendiuDi of all the Feasts and Holy Seasons, instituted by the Catholic Church, to 
r.'imnd Chri.stians of the mystery of Divine love, and of the lives and virtues of her ilhi'^trirM,. 
members, and to exhort them to celebrate their Feasts in a becoming manner. 

Nothing would be more instructive, elevating and pleasing to Catholic Churches, than lu lm/. 
> pon this great tableaux, which the Church presents to us through the EcoleniaUieal Year \n 
r ..^efnl remembrance of the most gracious Promdenceof God, and of the glorious deeds of her 
.- iints. 

To accomplish this object, the present work will be a manual for family instruction and devo- 
tion, and it will, therefore, contain a short but complete explanation, not only of the Feasta of our 
Lord, and the FesHvala of the Saints, but also of all t/w Sundays, and even the more important 
' re/r-days. 

The explanation of each Sunday and Festival will not only contain the necessary historical 



facts and an account of the usual ceremonies, but also the principal parts of the Mass, viz. : the 
lilt roil, Prayer, Epistles, and Gospels, with short interpretations amd practical applicatims. 



lu The Ecclesiastical Year the same order and division of the Roman 3Iissal and 
breviary are used, and the style of the work will be such as to be understood by the young as well 
as by persons of mature age. Nothing is better adapted to assist the Faithful, to console the 
sad, and to give hope to the needy, than to meditate upon the lives of those, whom the Church has 
canonized in acknowledgment of their merits, and in consideration of their piety, or on account of 
the cheerfulness with which they sacrificed their lives for the sacred cause of Religion. 

This work will, therefore, contain not only an explanation of the Feasts, but also a represen- 



tation 



TSE SMlf S 

for each day, and for this end the Legends of Dr. A. Stolz are added. Dr A Stolz has 
received in a special manner from Almighty God the faculty of reaching the human heart- very 
few wrUej's understand the wants of the people as he did, and it is, therefore, confidently hoped 
thaltfiis work will he very popular. Two such authors, as the Rev. Rector Bayeele and Rev" 
A. hTOLZ, D.D., cannot fail to give the greatest satisfaction to the reader. 

Would that this work might assist in furthering the Honor of God, in glorifying the Holv 
athohc Church, and in instructing and edifying the pious reader. 

THL-ECCIESIASTICAL YEAR contains: 
I. The explanation of all the Sundays and Festivals, divided into 3 parts : 1. Christmas- 
C vcLus. 2. Easter-Cyclus. 3. Pentecost-Cyclus. II. The Legends, after the Feasts 
a.ul Sundays of each month, for every day during the year. The Public will easily underst^d 
that a work will be given to them, which contains more matter than any similar work has ever 
done, and it.can be Justly asserted that no other book like this has yet been published, 

.J^'^.-^Tt^'^^^i^J^?'^^? ^P,P^^^^ '"^ ^^ numbers. The first number will be published 
. n the first of January, 1864, and subsequently on the 1st and 15tli of each month. 
Price, per number of 6 sheets (3 double sheets), only 20 cents. 
Each subscriber will receive two premiums (on the additional payment of 25 cents each), viz. : 

With No. 12, "SATVOTISSXM^ VIRGJ-O,'- (The Holy Virgin.) 
With No. 24, "^SCETVSIO DOIVIIIVI,'' (Ascension of Christ.) 

u .nPjl'^^'Ti!'^ ??^'^^}"g«. ^'^ 22 inches wide and 28 inches high, and will be an ornament 
o any parlor. The Holy Virgin as wel as the Son of God are in full figure, elegantly colored 
upon a black ground with printed symbolical border. The retail price of each engraving is |2 00, 
both premiums herefore, almost equal the price of the whole work. Notwithstanding we only 
Ihirwork^^^^^^ p4^^ '^^ the purposeof paying import'erpenseZ 

States and r«n!d^ wt '11 ' ^'^n'^n'"'' ^S"^*' "^^ News-carrier's through the United 

^f/^of ltl^.r ^^?^^'\^'^} ^f^^ ^1-20 will have six numbers of the work sent to him 
tree ot postage. No one is authorized to make any other terms. 

»• ZICKEL, Publisher, No. 113 Rivington St., N. Y. 



PLEASE READ THIS. 



The following Index of the Feasts and Legends for December, shows how much instructive 
and devotional matter is contained in this work. 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR. 



I. The Holy (Season of Advent. 



First Sunday of Advent. 
Second " " " 



Third Sunday of Advent. 
Fourth " " " 



II, Chriistmas. 
III. Immaculate Conception of the Biesised Virgin WLary, 

The Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle. 
" '* '' " Stephen, first Martyr. 
" " '' ^' John, Apostle and Evangelist. 
" '' " The Holy Innocents. 

IV. £<e§:ends* 

St. Eligius: Narrow Path. 

St. Chrysologus : Our Father in Spirit. 

St. Francis Xavier : Means of Conversion. 

St. Barbara : Serving Grod in the World. 

Blessed Elizabeth of the Infant Jesus : G-rowth in Holiness. 

St. Nicholas : To avoid mortal sin. 

St, Ambrose : Sin of rashness. 

Blessed Peter Forreri ; Our Father in Truth. 

St. Eulalia : Unwavering Firmness. 

Blessed Ida of Nivella : The sacred Host. 

St. Spiridion : Esteem of the World. 

St. Odilia : Modesty of the Eyes. 

Blessed Berthold of Ratisbon : Seals of tlie DeviL 

Blessed Virgin Mary : Consoler of the Afflicted. 

St. Adelaide : Changes of Fortune. 

St. Olympius : Consolation in Suffering. 

Blessed Herman : To walk in the Presence of God, 

The Martyrs of St. Samosta : Christian Heroism. 

St. Lawrence of Porto Maurito : Hardened Heart. 

Blessed Conrad Scheuber : Serving Grod in Solitude. 

St.Malchus: Fidelity. 

St. Eugenie: Innocence Vindicated. 

St. Thomas of Canterbury: Unyielding Firmness. 

St. Anysia : Danger of Youth. Hl V "\ 

Blessed Brother Francis of the Infant JesSt (3ySi^ii|3 &i^^ 



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